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Jack did the only thing he could do—he went ashore to look for another line of work. The town was called Salt-wash, on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, and he had a lot of helpful advice from the people in Mrs. DelFresno’s boardinghouse. Somehow, though, each career he looked into seemed to have something wrong with it. And every night at dinner in the boardinghouse he tried to explain why. For who would want to work where there might be a troll, or the danger of getting a crab caught in your beard? Or what about a music-loving crocodile? There were other things, too, that ran against every suggestion and took the wind out of his sails.
At last, Jack decided he wouldn’t be good at anything onshore and would have to go back to sea, pirate or not. But sometimes, as you probably know already, things work out very nicely when you least expect it.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 12, 2008 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780739364093
- File size: 61057 KB
- Duration: 02:07:12
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 5.1
- Lexile® Measure: 860
- Interest Level: K-3(LG)
- Text Difficulty: 4-5
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Reviews
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It's 1720, and times are tough on the AVARICE. Jack Plank, a pirate lacking the knack for plundering, finds himself set ashore near the town of Saltwash, Jamaica. Mrs. DelFresno agrees to let him stay at her boardinghouse for a trial week. If the other boarders don't mind and he can find a job, he can stay. Each day 11-year-old Nina accompanies Jack on his job search, and every evening at supper he tells a tale from his pirate days--a tale that demonstrates quite clearly why he couldn't do this job or that. John Mayer brings Natalie Babbitt's ersatz pirate to life. Young listeners will enjoy Jack's swashbuckling tales and will nod in agreement when the perfect job finds Jack. N.E.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine -
Starred review from April 9, 2007
Billed as Babbitt's first novel in 25 years, this book is really a charming collection of linked stories about the gentler side of pirate life aboard the Avarice
. The tale-teller, Jack Plank, understands that "plundering" is not his strong suit: "You have to yell and make faces and rattle your sword.... Jack didn't seem to have a knack for it." So when the pirating economy slows, kindly Captain Scudder is forced to give him the pink slip. Put ashore with a small bag of gold florins donated by his shipmates, Jack finds himself on Saltwash Island, and convinces Mrs. DelFresno to take him in as a boarder. She's not too sure about renting a room to a pirate (his attire gives him away) but daughter Nina, 11, promises to help Jack quickly find a new occupation. Over the next eight days, however, Jack talks himself out of one profession after another by regaling his fellow boarders with colorful stories from his pirating past, featuring ghosts, mermaids and shapeshifters (but no violence), each of which demonstrates why he could never be a farmer, baker, jeweler or barber. Jack's lilting tales make an ideal read-aloud—so long as no one misses an up-close look at Babbitt's skilled pencil drawings. Perceptive readers will figure out long before Jack precisely what profession he's perfect for (the title gives it away), as Babbitt expertly weaves a message into Jack's tales: that stories are just as vital to a community as farming the land or baking bread. Ages 8-up.
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