By David Lucas (author)
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“I’ll never be beaten!” boasts the skeleton pirate. But it turns out not be true... Bound in chains and tossed over board by his enemies, the Skeleton Pirate is set free by a mermaid before both are swallowed up by a passing Whale. How the skeleton pirate learns that there are better ways of behaving than fighting makes a delightful story and David Lucas’s illustrations are as striking as ever.
Shiver me timbers and swash me buckles. It's time for an adventure with the Skeleton Pirate! The Skeleton Pirate is the Terror of the Seas and he'll never be beaten!
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Until, that is, he gets beaten by an unruly bunch of pirates and thrown overboard. Down in the depths of the sea he embarks on an adventure with a beautiful mermaid, a whale with tummy ache and a golden ship full of treasure... Full of humour and irrepressible energy this is the perfect picture book for all would-be little pirates!
David Lucas is an extraordinary new talent in children's picture books - in 2008 he was named as one of The Big Picture campaign's Best New Illustrators.
'Really tickled me hearties' (Capt. Black Morty Rackham, The Contessa's Dagger)
'Sink me and call me a bilge pump - a truly fearsome read!' (Capt. Fishbait O'Doule, Lady Ascuela's Night Doom)
David Lucas - As a child
"I was born in Middlesbrough, where my Mum was a teacher and my Dad worked in the steel works. I am the third of six brothers, and as children we were all dressed the same - same haircut, same jeans, same jumpers. When I was five years old we came to London (my Dad had decided to go to Art College) and at first we lived in a tent before moving to a council flat in Hackney. My parents both loved nature so I often spent holidays exploring forests and wandering on the moors in Yorkshire or by the seashore. I loved ruins and castles too - magical, haunted places. I always enjoyed drawing and in my teens I became fascinated by mythology and fairytales and folklore and began writing stories and inventing imaginary worlds and characters."
"I live in east London, close to where I grew up, beside Victoria Park. My home is full of strange old books - books of magic spells and secret alphabets and half forgotten legends. I collect old toys too, and colourful folk art and carvings of scary tribal gods with staring eyes. I've always liked fancy dress parties - it's fun pretending to be someone you're not - and I enjoy being on my own in nature - I love places where I can escape the modern world and imagine I'm living centuries ago. I just feel very lucky to be able to make my living from writing stories and making pictures and mostly I live a very quiet life."
"I believe the world is alive with magic - and it's that feeling that really inspires my work. My drawing is picture-writing - I never draw from life - I make patterns, as if I were knitting with ink. Writing, for me, is pattern-making too - putting words together as if they were simple shapes, making story-patterns that are a mixture of autobiography and myth and fairytale. I spend the mornings writing, looking out onto the park, listening to the birds singing and the canal boats chugging past. I paint and draw in my studio near London Fields. As well as making picture books I'm also working on an illustrated fantasy novel."
Shiver me timbers and swash me buckles. It's time for an adventure with the Skeleton Pirate!
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Skeleton Pirate and determined it is suitable for children aged 3-4 years old
The Skeleton Pirate features in the following genres: Featured Books for 3+ readers, Recommendations
Hardback. Not Available.
The Skeleton Pirate was written by David Lucas and published by Walker Books Ltd
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