I want to know how Ned keeps their yarn dry on board this pirate ship! What's better than a gold-digging, deck-swabbing, monster-battling knitter? Nice illustrations and fun text that invites singing and funny voices. ( )

Cute -- I really like the language, Yarrrr! ( )

Pirates are tough, pirates sail around and look for treasure, they do not knit! But if they do knit, they might just save the day. ( )

Genre: Fiction

Summary: Ned is a pirate aboard a fierce pirate ship. While the other pirates look for buried treasure and swab the deck, Ned likes to sit and knit. The captain of the ship and the other pirates do not like it that Ned knits. They tell him that he will walk the plank if he knits again. But Ned's knitting comes in handy when he saves the ship from the dreaded ocean beast. From then on, the other pirates celebrate Ned's knitting hobby.

Uses in the Classroom: This is a great read aloud that helps children celebrate differences and their different hobbies that make them unique. I would love to use this before a type of show and tell unit. I think it would be great to have students bring in their different hobbies and write their own poems about them.

The pirates are a fierce lot and don't understand why one of their own loves to knit. But when Ned's knitting saves the day, they are happy to embrace his hobby.

This is a funny picture book about staying true to oneself. I like how, despite the older pirates' initial objections, Ned can still be a tough pirate while also enjoying knitting. It's a great way to introduce/reinforce the idea that certain activities are not gendered (i.e., letting boys know they aren't "sissies" if they enjoy things besides rough-and-tumble physicality).

Because of some of the less common language used (e.g., words like "ye" and "scurvy"), I think this book would work best as an adult read-aloud rather than a child reading to him or herself. Beware though that the book features a song for which you'll have to make up the tune and then recall that tune as the song repeats several times throughout the book.

All in all, this a great book for sharing with kids when you want a book to make you laugh but still has an important lesson at its core. ( )