School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Quattlebaum gives pirate fans twice the rogue for their reading pleasure. Bad Bart, "the biggest, burliest pirate this side of the Atlantic," sets sail to make sure he's the biggest and burliest (and richest) in the whole world. At the same time, Mean Mo, "the maddest, mightiest pirate this side of the Pacific," embarks with a similar goal. "The earth being round, the two met in the middle." What follows is a feast of braggadocio, fabulous insults, and fierce competitions such as swimming with sharks, mast-climbing, arm-wrestling, and treasure-counting. The surprising outcome is so ferociously heartwarming that it'll shiver readers' timbers. Quattlebaum litters the pages with robust buccaneer lingo: "ahoys" and "avasts," "rogues" and "scurvy dogs" abound. Boiger expertly blends droll humor with dramatic seascapes and detailed ship settings. Young pirates will give this new work a four-Arrrrrr! rating.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
What happens when two of the fiercest pirates in the world-Bad Bart, a portly, bearded scoundrel with a hat that doubles as a candelabra, and Mean Mo, whose long blond hair complements her snub nose and snaggly teeth-find they can't out-insult, out-swim, out-throw, or out-treasure each other? (They turn out to have exactly 1,953 pieces of treasure each.) Most uncharacteristically for pirates, they're stymied. Bad Bart, filled with admiration for his former adversary, presents her with a tiara. "This be a little gift," he says. She gives him a jeweled belt. "This be a present from me," she says. It gets soppier, but thankfully, they're pirates, so their words of love ("Yer nose be red as a ruby, me little treasure") are just as entertaining as their earlier epithets of "Bilge rat" and "Sea skunk." Boiger's (The Monster Princess) extravagant spreads are filled with billowy curves-foamy waves, full sails, and the bellies of Bad Bart's henchmen. Their romantic aesthetic, as a counterpoint to Quattlebaum's (Winter Friends) piratical hijinks, is central to the story's charm. An all-around winner. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
