lagobond's review
5.0
This is the house that Jack built... in a fantastic world of pirates and hidden treasure... featuring a boy and his adorable Corgi, a large cast of animal characters, and of course Pirate Frank! An endearing story of a daring adventure, an unexpected find, and at the end of the day.
I love the dynamic illustrations: immersive landscapes, lots of funny details for kids to discover, expressive body and facial language, wonderful use of color. The text is engaging, with perfect pacing and brilliant use of typography to encourage expressive reading.
I just learned that this type of storytelling (The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, The House that Jack Built, [b:We're Going on a Bear Hunt|201126|We're Going on a Bear Hunt|Michael Rosen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388274854l/201126._SX50_.jpg|1974395], etc.) is called a chain tale, or cumulative story/song/tale. A rhythmic story with a narration that builds upon itself, adding on and repeating previous information. The repetition makes the story predictable, which is soothing for children and particularly helpful for beginning readers. I'm so glad I found this book.
Spoiler
a hasty retreat to snuggly safetyI love the dynamic illustrations: immersive landscapes, lots of funny details for kids to discover, expressive body and facial language, wonderful use of color. The text is engaging, with perfect pacing and brilliant use of typography to encourage expressive reading.
I just learned that this type of storytelling (The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, The House that Jack Built, [b:We're Going on a Bear Hunt|201126|We're Going on a Bear Hunt|Michael Rosen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388274854l/201126._SX50_.jpg|1974395], etc.) is called a chain tale, or cumulative story/song/tale. A rhythmic story with a narration that builds upon itself, adding on and repeating previous information. The repetition makes the story predictable, which is soothing for children and particularly helpful for beginning readers. I'm so glad I found this book.
panda_incognito's review
3.0
The illustrations are cute, and the twist ending was a fun idea, but I don't like books that repeat the same lines with each progression in the style of "The House That Jack Built." That was the deal-breaker for this book when it comes to storytime, because I don't want to read those details aloud over and over again for the entire book.
maidmarianlib's review
4.0
Fun "house that Jack built" poem with great rhyme such a fun twist at the end, the pictures are neat and I love the dog with the eye patch.
tinkeringlibrarian's review
5.0
Ahhhmazing! So good for yoga storytime, awesome to sing as well! Bold pictures and lots of opportunities to move and interact!
alyce6d980's review
5.0
The Treasure of Pirate Frank has all of the makings of an instant classic, as a boy and his dog go on a repetitive adventure to try to find the Treasure of Pirate Frank. The repetitions made the story much more suspenseful, and some of the locations that the boy and his dog have to explore would definitely intimidate me, so I found myself getting more invested in the story than I'd expected to. I absolutely loved the fact that Pirate Frank was a girl - my little one has a pirate octopus toy and I won't be surprised if she likes pirates as much as her father and I when she's older - and it was a nice twist to the traditional pirate tale.
More...