Kirkus Reviews

While reading a book about pirates, Danny considers sailing away with them. But what if he wants to come home? 

As he reads with his mom, little Danny wonders aloud what it would be like to be a pirate. From the comfort of his couch, his questions persist. "What if I don't like it on the pirate ship? And I want to come back home?" With steadfast love, his mother answers every "What if...?" with confident answers that reassure the young boy. Danny considers many logical barriers to his rescue, including the dangers of the ocean and the possibility that the friendly pirates may want to keep him. His mother's answers, however, involve the magical element of a bottle filled with "magic spray." She metaphorically shrinks the problems with a few pumps of a handle. These "Alice in Wonderland" solutions seem unjustified given Danny's reasonable questions. Luckily, the colorful full-spread illustrations simplify the nonsense and provide a mood of happy security throughout the story. Fortenberry's playful illustrations freely borrow from cartoon conventions; the adorable Danny expresses no doubts about his security through two little dots for eyes.  A sweet Runaway Bunny book for the pirate set. (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Danny's mother has answers for all of his anxious pirate-related questions. While the storybook they read together offers Danny tantalizing possibilities-"Mom? What if I want to be a pirate and sail away on a pirate ship?"-threats and doubts loom, too. "What if I don't like it on the pirate ship? And I want to come back home?" But Mom deals skillfully, Runaway Bunny-style, with Danny's fretting: "Then I will ask a nice, friendly dolphin to take me out to that pirate ship, and we will bring you home." Layers of color and heavily worked figures give Fortenberry's (Pippa at the Parade) digital art a thick, substantial feel. The pirates, her spreads emphasize, are cheery fellows who would never harm Danny. His mother imagines vanquishing evildoers with magic shrinking spray ("with mint"); afterwards, the tiny pirates cower by Mom's gigantic feet. The book reads like a conversation Bunting (Tweak Tweak) might once have had with one of her own children; it's a warmhearted portrait of an endlessly patient parent, ready to help her child work through his fears and desires. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

ALA Booklist (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Danny and his mother read a picture book called Pirate Boy together and then, in a question-and-answer dialogue, create their own pirate adventure featuring Danny sailing away on a pirate ship with Mom close at hand, should he have second thoughts about the escapade. Although the other pirates turn menacing, and there are a couple of scary sea monsters, the challenges Danny conjures up are low-key, and mom conquers each with a flourish. The story concludes with a day at the beach, and the book ends with mother and son enjoying cookies. Softly colored, uncluttered watercolor-style digital illustrations scored with thin, scratchy lines to suggest wind and motion perfectly match the nonthreatening tone of the text and feature just the right amount of accoutrement appropriate for a pirate story. The action scenes have enough drama to create interest but not so much as to be overwhelming. Pair this with any of many available pirate fantasies, such as Melinda Long's How I Became a Pirate by (2003) and James Preller's A Pirate's Guide to First Grade (2010).

School Library Journal (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

PreS-K As Danny and his mom finish reading a pirate story, the child imagines becoming a pirate and sailing away. But "What if I don't like it on the pirate ship? And I want to come back home?" he asks. Through questions and answers, his mother explains how she will bring him home, riding a dolphin, battling sea monsters and pirates, and using her handy magic spray. Later, they will play at the beach with Daddy and then head home for cookies. Each time Mom answers his question, Danny responds, "Okay. But, Mom&30;?" giving the text rhythm and predictability. Cartoon illustrations are digitally painted in muted colors, creating a quiet tone. Despite prominent texturing lines, some spreads feel flat or awkward. Similar in theme and format to Margaret Wise Brown's Runaway Bunny (Harper, 1942) and Lisa McCourt's I Love You, Stinky Face (Troll, 1997), with the addition of the ever-popular pirates, the story is not an essential purchase, but it is one that will find its audience. Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, OR

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

A boy who imagines himself sailing on a pirate ship wants to make sure Mom is standing by in case of trouble. The two have an amusing (and reassuring) discussion; for every problem the boy invents, the resourceful mom comes up with a solution, including a magic spray to shrink sea monsters. Childlike digital paintings echo the playful tone of the conversation.