The Night Pirates: A Pop-Up Adventure

Under cover of night, a band of “rough, tough little girl pirates” creep in shadow along a moonlit dock and sail away with a redheaded boy named Tom—and the façade of his house, which they use to disguise their ship (never mind that a sailing house is pretty conspicuous). Harris makes smart use of repetition and the book’s interactive format to create suspense as Tom and the pirates sail off to an island where they relieve Captain Patch and his sleepy swash-bucklers of their treasure. Armed with cutlasses, bandannas, and eye patches, Allwright’s pint-size buccaneers exude energy and mischief. The book’s cheeky ending—when the pirates return the front of Tom’s house to its original location, lifting a flap reveals that they forgot a critical detail—provides a witty conclusion to this sneaky nighttime adventure. Ages 3–7. (June)