Not your average ABC book, "Twenty-Six Pirates" combines the alphabet, rhyming, AND a litany of pirates to create a swashbuckling adventure!

An initial warning to all non gender-stereotyping readers: this book contains only boy pirates whereas Horowitz's companion, "Twenty-Six Princesses," covers the girls. If you can get over the latent sexism, you'll appreciate the book's humour and uniqueness. Progressing through the alphabet, each page displays a boldly illustrated pirate, who the text names and describes in short rhymed sentences e.g. "Pirate Doug. Needs a hug." and my personal favourite: "Pirate Ulysses. Swims with the fishes."

The pirates all have comical facial expressions and some wear rings, hats or necklaces bearing initials, turning each page into a mini-treasure hunt. A fun, interactive read for 4-8 year olds!

Clever Alphabet book with boy names for each of 26 pirates. Every time I think there's no new way to write an ABC book I see yet another that tops the rest.