A review by library_brandy
Uncle Pirate by Douglas Rees
3.0
For once, Wilson is almost cheered by the Bad News Pie his mom is making--maybe whatever news she has will keep his parents from noticing that his glasses are broken. Again. Lucky for him, Mom's news is just distracting enough: her long-lost brother has been found, and is coming to stay with them. Wilson is shocked when his uncle arrives: he's not just a relative, he's a pirate, and he travels with a talking penguin. Captain Jack (the penguin) wants to learn to read, and Uncle Pirate (Bob) needs to adjust to life on land, so it's off to Wilson's elementary school--the most un-shipshape place imaginable. That is, until Uncle Pirate takes over as Captain....
This is a goofy, humorous story, reminiscent of the Wayside School books. Early readers will enjoy Uncle Pirate's nautical vocabulary, and will likely adopt "arh" and "matey" into their own speech. The zaniness of the school's faculty is at odds with the realistic portrayal of Wilson and his family, which makes one or the other seem wrong for the book, but kids will get a kick out of this wacky story regardless.
This is a goofy, humorous story, reminiscent of the Wayside School books. Early readers will enjoy Uncle Pirate's nautical vocabulary, and will likely adopt "arh" and "matey" into their own speech. The zaniness of the school's faculty is at odds with the realistic portrayal of Wilson and his family, which makes one or the other seem wrong for the book, but kids will get a kick out of this wacky story regardless.