by Anna Fienberg,
illustrated by Remy Simard
Annick Press, 2013
ISBN 978-1-55451-549-3 hc
$24.95, 104 pp, ages 8+
annickpress.com
My favourite character in this story is Bombastic because he has a frog named Pest and I really like frogs and I wish I had one. The story takes place in a small town and on a pirate ship. Every boy’s 12th year is the worst because they get taken by pirates to work on their ships for two years. The boys even go to school to learn to be mean and act like a pirate. A witch named Gretel placed a curse on a baby boy named Horrendo. She cursed Horrendo by making him a nice person. He grew up being polite and saying nice things. This made it hard for him at school. On Horrendo’s 12th birthday he was taken by the pirates to join the ship’s crew. Horrendo had a hard time on the ship since he wasn’t mean enough for the captain. With a great plan, Horrendo is able to convince all the pirates on the ship to leave and live in his town. The pirates even help out in the town and make great things happen.
I liked this book because Horrendo is so heroic for a twelve-year-old. Being nice paid off for him. This book reminds me of my favourite movie—Pirates of the Caribbean.
Review by Brennen, age 9, grade 4.
This review is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Apr/May 2014 issue.