Polly Parrot Picks a Pirate by Peter Bently and Penny Dann (Macmillan Children's Books)

We've seen many a pirate yarn on this 'ere blog but how about a nautical tale from the parrot's perspective? Polly (to be precise) who is getting a little bit fed up of staying around the same old island, in the same old tree, with the same old annoying monkeys to put up with. Surely there's more to the world than this?

Polly hits on the idea of adopting a pirate "pet" so that she can swan off on a ship, sail the seven seas, eat a cracker or two and find lots and lots of treasure!

It's not as easy as she thinks though, you see Polly's pirate pick is a poorly bunch at best. Most are fairly gross, some are just plain clumsy, others spend too much time looking in the mirror to even contemplate looking for treasure so what on earth is Polly to do?

She spots a calamitous sea battle going on between two of the most fearsome pirates. Redbeard and Pegleg Pete are going at it hammer and tongs, each trying to prove who is the best pirate on the briny deep. Polly thinks that the best idea will be to let the two duke it out, and then 'adopt' the winner! Hooray!

Polly gets more than she bargained for though. One of these pirates is not like the others...!

A fantastic twist to an entertaining romp of a tale, that proves that you really can never have too many pirate stories for children. You will have to read the book yourself to find out what happens to Polly - but it will definitely provide plenty of giggles and riotous uproar along the way. Brilliant stuff from Peter and Penny!

Charlotte's best bit: The twist at the end had her giggling but we won't spoil it for you! Eek!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Pacey piratical puns, parrot paraphernalia and pristine piccies! Perfecto!

(Kindly sent to us for review by Macmillan Children's Books)