Wild and wonderful, these stories will appeal to all readers of fine children’s literature, and Blake’s illustrations, full of spirit and exuberance, are the perfect accompaniment of Mahy’s vigorous tales.
The Great Piratical Rumbustification introduces us to Alpha, Oliver, and Omega Terrapin, alone for an evening of devilish fun and none other than Orpheus Clinker, a reformed pirate cleverly transformed into a respectable babysitter. Or has he reformed? Before you can say “Yo Ho Ho” the Terrapin household has become headquarters of the century’s biggest pirate party.
The Librarian and the Robbers is an equally tickling tale of a band of wicked robbers who one day carry off Serena Leburnum, a beautiful librarian. Follow what happens as the lovely and learned Miss L. not only outwits the robbers, turning them into outstanding citizens, but also teaches them the everlasting pleasures of the Dewey Decimal System.
Praise for The Great Piratical Rumbustification
Two books worth of story crammed into 63 magical pages, full of robbers tricked by librarians and retired pirates who know how to party and revive the joys of boyhood (while paying the bills). No impossibly articulate child protagonists with clearly defined goals or desires, no rhyme or reason, just a pair of stories cut from the same cloth as books by William Steig and Roald Dahl.
—David Elzey, The Excelsior File