Flinn, a seemingly ordinary boy who likes pirates and dinosaurs, is on a school trip to see dinosaur skeletons at a museum. He and his friends are in awe of the huge skeleton of the giganotosaurus, which the guide tells them was even mightier than Tyrannosaurus Rex. They are also intrigued when the guide shows them an empty glass case from which Captain Rufus Rumblebelly's treasure was stolen the night before.
Flinn and friends follow a trail of feathers and gold coins, thinking that it might hold a clue to the treasure. It leads them into a dark cupboard and, surprise surprise, the back of the cupboard falls away. The children find themselves in the cabin of a pirate ship where Rumblebelly's grandson, Gordon Gurgleguts, has been tied up and left. He admits to having taken the treasure from the museum, but it was then stolen from him.
Gurgleguts appoints Flinn as captain of the ship, and off they set to Bag o' Bones Island in search of the thieves and treasure. The culprits are of course the pirate dinosaurs, who manage to capture Gurgleguts and threaten to barbecue him. Tyrannosaurus Rex, however, remembers his previous encounter with Captain Flinn and brings on his fearsome cousin, Gigantosaurus. This huge monster is terrified of a tiny spider hanging from Flinn's hat. Flinn seizes the opportunity to grab the treasure, free Gurgleguts and tie up the dinosaurs. It's not long before they are heading back on the ship. At the museum, the guide is delighted to see the treasure returned, but there's no way he's going to believe in pirate dinosaurs.
“Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs: Missing Treasure” is Giles Andreae's sequel to Flinn's first adventure when he vanquished Tyrannosaurus Rex. The idea of Flinn and his friends falling through the back of the cupboard not only has shades of C.S. Lewis' “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, but is a repetition of the way the children found themselves on a pirate ship in the previous book. The story itself is, however, full of humour and excitement, and the ingredients of pirates, dinosaurs and lost treasure are bound to appeal to many young children.
Giles Andreae has of course invented the giganotosaurus, and has included a friendly note before the story starts on the pronunciation of the name, breaking it down into six syllables. I think a fair few adults will appreciate this. “Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs: Missing Treasure” is a great read-aloud adventure, but with lengthy dinosaur names and insults like “dastardly dunderheads”, it is not an ideal book for a child learning to read. Most of the text is in a large font, in fact some words and phrases are extra large for emphasis, but sometimes the font resembles handwriting. The text is superimposed on the illustrations, and in a few cases the background is a little dark.
Russell Ayto's illustrations are wonderful and definitely bring the story to life. He uses vibrant reds, blues and yellows alongside more muted colours, and really goes to town with the characters. The dinosaurs have huge toothy grins and evil eyes, while Gurgleguts is a round body with stick-like limbs and tiny spotted handkerchief on his head. As in the previous book, there is a colourful cross-section of the pirate ship showing mice in hammocks, a bed with a skull bed-head, and a soppy Gurgleguts hugging one of the children goodbye.
The device of the back of the cupboard falling away to get the children onto a ship was disappointing in the first story and even more so when it was repeated in “Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs: Missing Treasure”. Nevertheless, Giles Andreae has created an adventure story that most children, certainly boys, will love. The group of four-year-olds that I read it aloud to reacted to it with plenty of enthusiasm. One of the boys had the book at home and was able to recite a little song from the book as well as join in with a few other lines here and there. It was obviously a book that he had asked to have read to him again and again. Although not a favourite picture book of mine, the humour and sense of adventure make this a story that three to five-year-olds will not be bored by. Slightly older children may enjoy it too, but a young independent reader will probably find it quite challenging. Recommended for any fans of pirates and dinosaurs.
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs: Missing Treasure
By Giles Andreae (Author) and Russell Ayto (Illustrator)
Paperback, 32 pages
Puffin, 2008
ISBN 9780141500492
Price £6.99 (Amazon £4.18)
Showing posts with label Captain Flinn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Captain Flinn. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 July 2010
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs, by Giles Andreae and Russell Ayto
Flinn, like so many other boys his age, loves dinosaurs and pirates. One day at school his teacher sends him to a walk-in cupboard to look for the pens he needs to colour a dinosaur picture. While inside, Flinn hears the sound of a man crying. He is amazed to find Captain Stubble, a pirate, shaking and shuddering on the floor under a curtain. The reason for Captain Stubble's despair is that his ship has been stolen. Flinn offers to help him get it back, and out of nowhere three of his friends appear, all clamouring to join in the adventure.
Suddenly the back of the cupboard falls away and they find themselves on board a pirate ship. Captain Stubble appoints Flinn as the new captain, as he would rather be the cook. Off they sail in search of the lost ship, the 'Acorn'. After a long voyage they spot it through their telescope but are horrified to see that it has been taken over by pirate dinosaurs, with a mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex at the helm. They bravely attack, and soon all the dinosaurs except for T Rex jump overboard. Flinn challenges Tyrannosaurus to a duel, and miraculously keeps going until the dinosaur surrenders. Tyrannosaurus promises to be good from then on, and is so impressed by Flinn that he appoints him as the new captain of the dinosaur pirates.
Flinn, however, suddenly realises he should be back at school. They sail home while Stubble cooks shark's fin stew for everyone. Back on shore the children wave goodbye to Stubble and Tyrannosaurus Rex, then clamber back into the school cupboard. As they creep into the classroom, Miss Pie has just finished reading a story to the class. She wonders what Flinn and his pals have been up to, but they just smile at each other and say, “Nothing really at all.”
Giles Andreae has taken two popular groups of characters in the form of pirates and dinosaurs to create a fast-paced adventure that could hardly fail to be a success, especially among young boys. When I asked a group of four-year-olds which stories they would like to repeat in their drama sessions at the end of the school year, “Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs” was one of their three choices. (The other two were Julia Donaldson's “A Squash and a Squeeze” and “Courtney” by John Burningham.) It is easy to see the appeal. It is, however, hard to overlook the parallel with C.S. Lewis' “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” when Flinn and company fall through the back of the cupboard. Pre-school children of course are unlikely to be aware of this similarity. Even so, whilst there is excitement and a bravely fought duel, the story is neither original nor intriguing. The ending is also somewhat of an anticlimax.
Russell Ayot's illustrations for “Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs” are bold, humorous and highly colourful. Tyrannosaurus in his pirate rig-out has evil eyes and deadly sharp teeth, confronting puny Flinn who bravely wields his silver cutlass with a determined expression. At one point we see a fascinating cross-section of the 'Acorn' with almost toothless pirate prisoners tied up below deck, and Tyrannosaurus Rex grinning in anticipation as he watches Stubble (who has a great deal of stubble) stirring the stew. There's even a bemused little blue parrot. Smoke puffs out from the kitchen against a scarlet sky.
“Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs” is definitely a read-aloud story rather than a book for a child learning to read. The text is superimposed on the illustrations, usually on a light-coloured background but occasionally on red or blue. Some words and phrases appear in a larger font for emphasis, and one or two are in capitals in a font that looks like handwriting. Exclamation marks abound. A lot of young children are familiar with the names of various species of dinosaur that appear here, such as stegosaurus and triceratops, but that does not of course mean that they would find them easy to read. Phrases such as “All hands on deck!” or “Right, me hearties” lend authenticity to the pirate theme, but here again originality is sadly lacking.
“Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs” is a particularly lively book that is more than likely to hold the attention of children, especially boys, aged from three up to six or perhaps seven. It is not the greatest, most imaginative story, but children of that age may not be so critical. One or two of the illustrations could be frightening for a very young child, but on the whole they are amusing and bring the story to life. This is a picture book that may not be the favourite for the adult reader, but could be very popular with a child that loves action with pirates or dinosaurs or both.
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs
Giles Andreae (Author) and Russell Ayto (Illustrator)
Puffin, 2006
Paperback, 32 pages
ISBN 9780140569216
Price £6.99 (Amazon £4.99)
Suddenly the back of the cupboard falls away and they find themselves on board a pirate ship. Captain Stubble appoints Flinn as the new captain, as he would rather be the cook. Off they sail in search of the lost ship, the 'Acorn'. After a long voyage they spot it through their telescope but are horrified to see that it has been taken over by pirate dinosaurs, with a mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex at the helm. They bravely attack, and soon all the dinosaurs except for T Rex jump overboard. Flinn challenges Tyrannosaurus to a duel, and miraculously keeps going until the dinosaur surrenders. Tyrannosaurus promises to be good from then on, and is so impressed by Flinn that he appoints him as the new captain of the dinosaur pirates.
Flinn, however, suddenly realises he should be back at school. They sail home while Stubble cooks shark's fin stew for everyone. Back on shore the children wave goodbye to Stubble and Tyrannosaurus Rex, then clamber back into the school cupboard. As they creep into the classroom, Miss Pie has just finished reading a story to the class. She wonders what Flinn and his pals have been up to, but they just smile at each other and say, “Nothing really at all.”
Giles Andreae has taken two popular groups of characters in the form of pirates and dinosaurs to create a fast-paced adventure that could hardly fail to be a success, especially among young boys. When I asked a group of four-year-olds which stories they would like to repeat in their drama sessions at the end of the school year, “Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs” was one of their three choices. (The other two were Julia Donaldson's “A Squash and a Squeeze” and “Courtney” by John Burningham.) It is easy to see the appeal. It is, however, hard to overlook the parallel with C.S. Lewis' “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” when Flinn and company fall through the back of the cupboard. Pre-school children of course are unlikely to be aware of this similarity. Even so, whilst there is excitement and a bravely fought duel, the story is neither original nor intriguing. The ending is also somewhat of an anticlimax.
Russell Ayot's illustrations for “Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs” are bold, humorous and highly colourful. Tyrannosaurus in his pirate rig-out has evil eyes and deadly sharp teeth, confronting puny Flinn who bravely wields his silver cutlass with a determined expression. At one point we see a fascinating cross-section of the 'Acorn' with almost toothless pirate prisoners tied up below deck, and Tyrannosaurus Rex grinning in anticipation as he watches Stubble (who has a great deal of stubble) stirring the stew. There's even a bemused little blue parrot. Smoke puffs out from the kitchen against a scarlet sky.
“Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs” is definitely a read-aloud story rather than a book for a child learning to read. The text is superimposed on the illustrations, usually on a light-coloured background but occasionally on red or blue. Some words and phrases appear in a larger font for emphasis, and one or two are in capitals in a font that looks like handwriting. Exclamation marks abound. A lot of young children are familiar with the names of various species of dinosaur that appear here, such as stegosaurus and triceratops, but that does not of course mean that they would find them easy to read. Phrases such as “All hands on deck!” or “Right, me hearties” lend authenticity to the pirate theme, but here again originality is sadly lacking.
“Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs” is a particularly lively book that is more than likely to hold the attention of children, especially boys, aged from three up to six or perhaps seven. It is not the greatest, most imaginative story, but children of that age may not be so critical. One or two of the illustrations could be frightening for a very young child, but on the whole they are amusing and bring the story to life. This is a picture book that may not be the favourite for the adult reader, but could be very popular with a child that loves action with pirates or dinosaurs or both.
Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs
Giles Andreae (Author) and Russell Ayto (Illustrator)
Puffin, 2006
Paperback, 32 pages
ISBN 9780140569216
Price £6.99 (Amazon £4.99)
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