Pi-rat!

A rat pirate and his fearsome crew steal treasure, live by no rules, and fear nothing--except the Pirate Queen, a.k.a. a rat "momster" ending bath time. Full-spread graphic illustrations creatively take the viewer from swashbuckling high-seas adventure to the bathtub, but the minimal text's final reveal may not merit a hardy-har-har. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A pirate rat and his fearless crew sail the seas--until a "monster" ends the voyage. The captain of the pirate ship and his fellow travelers, a squirrel and cat, go sailing, conquering everything and fearing almost nothing. The bold shipmates pogo-stick across the heads of toothy crocodiles, dance merrily in the scary dead of night, and blow raspberries at a shark eyeing them hungrily, all ready for his meal, bib on and fork and knife in hand. And just as children would have it, there are no rules on the ship, and the merry trio eat and drink (without cleaning up, of course), bungee jump from the ship's tall mast and paint the walls with reckless abandon. But then a giant, hairy foot appears, and trembling with fear, the pirates end their escapades. Through the ship's portholes, readers see glimpses of the "BIG. Scary. VERY hairy" beast. As the monster's paws pluck the cat and squirrel from the sea, the rat waves a tearful goodbye. Who is this fearsome beast? It's the rat pirate's mother, holding out a fuzzy towel for her little rat, who smiles back at her from the tub. And the cat and squirrel--tub toys--have been placed on the floor to dry. Adorable, mixed-media illustrations with lots of humorous touches will coax any little landlubber to the sea--er, bathtub. Good piratical fun. (Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.