by Moe Zilla

Created on: January 29, 2009   Last Updated: December 08, 2009

It's called "Robin Hook, Pirate Hunter" - and remember that the title has an exclamation point! Famous pirates appear throughout the pages of this book, but they're at the mercy of the resourceful young pirate-fighter. His band slips aboard pirate ships, wreaking havoc on their dastardly plans. They'll sabotage compasses, or erase the X on a treasure map. Once they even put itching powder in Blackbeard's beard!

The authors know what's exciting about pirates, and he's crafted the perfect story. ("Robin Hook, the pirate hunter!" it begins - using blood-red cursive letters. "Every seafearer knows his name..." ) The book's first image is pirates on a ship, peering through a grey mist, where they spot a baby being rocked in the arms of an octopus. Even the names of the author and illustrator appear on the cover using the same blood-red cursive - along with sails and sashes tinted in a flashy pirate-y gold.

It's a wonderful book, and it's the artwork that really makes it come to life. Gorgeous illustrations (by Michael Dooling) fill the book, and their near-realism gives the story an extra excitement. On the tilting deck, with a rolling wave in the background, young Hook points defiantly at his father the pirate captain - even though the deck is full of his pirate-y crew. And when Robin is marooned, there's a dark orange sky - skinny palm trees on a hill's black silhouette - as off in the distance, his father's treacherous pirate ship slips over the horizon. Each illustration captures a mood beautifully. And now there's a vast black ocean between Robin's rocky island shore and the departing ship.

Robin Hook is a rebellious youth - but he's rebelling against pirates, so it's okay. ("He hated making people walk the plank. He never enjoyed sinking ships...") Soon another ship's children have been marooned on the island with him, and Robin tells them "We'll fight the pirates together." They eventually build a boat - and it looks like fun, in the illustration, with one boy swinging on a high rope.

The story moves fast - there's barely 16 pages of text - but they're faced with a worthy adversary, an escaping ship of ruthless pirates. They've slip past his watch and looted "the richest harbor on the Spanish Main." There's fire in the backgrounds as a crowd of bearded pirates bellow through the town. ("They burned the judge's bench, the church pulpit, and all the books in the library.") Then they parade through the streets wearing fine clothes they've stolen. But a talking parrot tips off Robin's gang.

Robin blows into a conch shell, and summons his gang...

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