When pirates, attracted by the smell of home-cooked noodle pudding, abduct Grandma and her parrot, clever Melissa comes up with a plot to set Grandma free. -- GoodReads

I thought this was a good book for small children. I liked how the author chose to use an aa, bb, cc, etc. rhyme scheme when listing all the foods the pirates ate. “Strawberry shortcake, mashed potatoes too, Pickled beets, pot roast, luscious meatball stew.” It added a nice flow and rhythm to that part of the story. Another thing I liked was the choice of the illustrator to include a border around each illustration or text on the page. For example on page fifteen it says, “The pirates pulled up the anchor and sailed away taking Grandma, Melissa, and Oliver with them.” The border on this page is an anchor attached to a long rope that goes around three sides of the rectangle border. On the bottom of border there is a long fishing net with fish in it. Overall this entertaining story, shows how one’s greed can be his/her downfall. ( )

This was a funny, light book that would be great for younger children. I liked the pirate jokes with the parrot and the idea that pirates really just want home-cooked meals! I also enjoyed the ending where the granddaughter and grandma cleverly escaped the pirates by tricking them with a treasure map. The message of this book is to never trust or be kind to pirates because they will end up kidnapping you and forcing you to cook their meals! This is a great, silly book! ( )

I did not really like this book for a couple of reasons. First, I didn't like how random the whole story was and how it didn't really give a clear message to the readers. The idea of the story with pirates eating and stealing Grandma's food was okay, but the parts following were very random. For example, the pirates captured the little girl, the grandma, and their parrot and the book explains a couple things they do on the ship but then uses only one page to say that they lived on the ship for a long time. I don't understand why they had to mention that because the story would've worked the same without it. I believe that including that made it more difficult for kids to stay engaged in the story and follow the sequence of events. Another reason I didn't really like this book was because of the characters the author used. A grandma was extremely random, but I understand that she was the reason for the whole story. But also, I don't understand why the grandma and little girl had a pet parrot when usually the pirates do. I believe that would confuse a lot of kids who are used to hearing pirates having parrots as pets. The parrot just didn't fit into the plot very well. The main idea of this story would be that even thieves can be tricked when the victims know their weakness. ( )

This delightful story is different from many children's books I've read. The images have a distinct feel and truly help in the story telling and add to the excitement of the story. It's a tale of adventure as Melissa's grandmother and their parrot are kidnapped by a group of malnourished pirates eager for delicious food. The pair must team up to outwit the pirates and escape their ship. The story isn't too scary for young children, but does carry the thrill of adventure kids will love.