Pirate Ship in a Storm
Pirate Ship in a Storm
by ReadRead · 5 min readThe waves rock the ship, the lamp goes out, and the crew must hold steady. A storm story about helping and being helped.
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Captain Tom and his crew are sailing on a sunny sea when they find a whale with an old net stuck on its tail. They pull it off, slow and steady. Then the sky goes dark, the waves get big and the little ship starts to rock. When a huge wave puts the lamp out, something big comes up under the ship.
The new words in this book
To tip from side to side, or up and down, like a boat on the waves. It comes up 8 times, and every time the ship, the lamp and the crew really tip on the page.
Held still and firm, not wobbling. It comes up 8 times: pulling the net off, Tom standing with his feet wide, Blue holding the ship, and the swinging things made still at the end.
The two words are opposites the pictures can show: when something rocks, the whole page tips; when it is steady, it stops with a little shine. The text repeats on purpose (“Hold on, crew!”, “slow and steady”), and every other word is a common one, like ship, sea, wave, rain, lamp and whale.
Questions to ask while you read
Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.
- 1What is the crew doing on this sunny day?
- 2What is stuck on the whale’s tail? How can Tom help?
- 3What is happening to the sky and the sea?
- 4Who fell off the mast? Who is sliding?
- 5How does Tom stay steady? Can you stand like Tom?
- 6What happened to the lamp? How does the crew feel now?
- 7Who came up under the ship? Why did Blue help?
- 8What does Kiki see from up high?
- 9Tap the swinging things: can you make them all steady?
- 10Who helped who in this story?
How hard is this book?
About 300 words, longer sentences, more different words.
- Dialogue × 10“What a good day to sail!”
- Questions × 1“It is so dark! Which way is home?”
- Commands × 3“Look! The lighthouse! Home is that way!”
- Not / no × 3“Squawk! Help! I can not stay up!”
- -ing words × 2“A storm is coming! Hold on, crew!”
- Past tense × 3“I said I would help you. Hold on!”
- Will / going to × 1“Thank you! I am Blue. One day I will help you, too.”
- Contractions × 1“Things still rock! Let’s make them all steady, crew!”
All 143 words, most used first
the 34 · and 19 · on 12 · ship 12 · is 11 · steady 8 · a 7 · big 7 · blue 7 · it 7 · to 7 · up 7 · holds 5 · i 5 · rock 5 · you 5 · crew 4 · waves 4 · flap 3 · help 3 · little 3 · mast 3 · rocks 3 · slow 3 · so 3 · that 3 · all 2 · blows 2 · come 2 · comes 2 · dark 2 · day 2 · down 2 · falls 2 · feet 2 · goes 2 · high 2 · his 2 · hold 2 · home 2 · look 2 · make 2 · net 2 · not 2 · now 2 · off 2 · out 2 · rain 2 · sail 2 · sees 2 · side 2 · stay 2 · still 2 · sun 2 · tail 2 · thank 2 · then 2 · water 2 · way 2 · wide 2 · wind 2 · again · am · an · at · back · boom · but · can · captain · cat · cheers · clouds · coming · cover · deck · did · does · each · flies · get · go · gold · good · hands · hard · her · ho · how · its · lamp · let's · light · lighthouse · makes · much · naps · no · of · oh · old · one · over · parrot · pull · rainbow · said · sails · sea · sings · slides · soft · something · squawk · stands · starts · stays · stops · strong · stuck · swinging · takes · tap · them · thing · things · through · tight · too · under · very · wave · we · wet · whale · what · wheel · which · whole · will · with · would · yo
Names don’t count: the picture shows who it is.
Tips for parents
- First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch the ship rock.
- On the steady page, stand up together, feet wide and hands out, and let someone gently push: “Steady!”
- Before page seven, ask “Who could help them now?” and see if your child remembers the whale.
- Play it for real: rock a toy boat in the bath or on a blanket, then hold it steady and say the words.