The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate

by Scott Nash

[Beth C.]

This is a story about pirates. But not just any pirates - bird pirates. Their ship flies, their plunder is seed, and their Captain is the notorious Blue Jay. This is also the story of what happens when Blue Jay's band of pirates end up with a gosling on board - so big, awkward and gangly that there is little the poor guy can do right in the pirating world. When adventure and scallywags strike, will they all be ready?

I started out a bit hesitant about the book - curious, but not really convinced that bird pirates would be a good idea. My lack of conviction died about half way through, and stayed buried until the end. It really is a well-written story, and uses the real-life qualities of the birds to accent their characters within the book. It is apparent that the author enjoys birds and has a pretty decent knowledge base with which to draw from. The story start a little bit slow, but picks up speed and keeps a pretty good pace the rest of the way through. The illustrations are lovely - my Vine edition didn't have color, but the black and white versions were pretty darn wonderful. I'm sure the color will be even better.

As a teacher, I found so many things that could be pulled from the book for further discussion/exploration. Friendship, bullying, being yourself, science (the different kinds of birds, star-nosed moles, migration, etc.), fables (there is one in the book about how the crow lost it's voice and became black)...these are just a few of the topics I can pick out right off the top of my head. The nice thing is that unlike some books with multiple topics, there isn't any preaching. It's just a good story that kids will enjoy with some added information.

I would definitely recommend this book. I believe it would appeal to both boys and girls, probably in the 3-6 grade range. Even better, it would be extremely well-suited for out loud reading, both in the classroom and at home. The ending certainly concludes this story, but also seems to leave open the possibility that this could be a series. I can say with no hesitation that I would enjoy reading another tale of Blue Jay and his pirate crew!