Molly has an amazing imagination and here Paul Selden, the illustrator, magnifies this pirate tale with flair and humour. While Mum is hanging out the washing in a rural Australian countryside, Molly is imagining herself as a pirate. She dons her pirate hat and eye patch, tucks her ‘sword’ into her belt and rows her ‘boat’ out to the pirate ship accompanied by her dog and cat. The illustrator very cleverly uses various perspectives to add imaginative elements throughout the book. Take a closer look at the pirate ship and note the eggbeater for a rudder and the hearty crew are the chickens and roosters from home.
Each character is suitably costumed with make believe pirate newspaper hats and armed with forks, wooden spoons and vegetable peelers. Molly and her fiddle-playing cat bamboozle the pirate crew who tumble and jumble themselves in a madcap scene before settling down to a feast. Molly then climbs the ship’s rigging (hills hoist) and shouts, ‘Look at me, I can touch the clouds’ (resembling turtles, seahorses, sharks and lobsters). The mayhem ends as Molly joins the hungry pirates in their feast of lollies, pop corn, cupcakes, oranges and a Chinese dish. After lunch, Molly steers the pirate ship to shore. It’s time to rest before her next pirate adventure! Back home Mum awakens Molly who is sound asleep in the laundry basket. Time for lunch!
Paul Seden’s very funny illustrations are filled with vigour and bear repeated viewings to find all the visual jokes in this clever adventure created by the very imaginative Molly. The language is filled with rich action verbs and has a jaunty flair that perfectly matches the story.
Lorraine Teece is an Elder of the Alyawarra people from Central Australia. She is an accomplished artist and her work is held in collections in Australia and overseas. Paul Seden is descended from the Wuthagthi and Muralag people of North Queensland.
‘Molly the Pirate’ has received two awards:
CBCA Notable Picture Book of the Year 2018
Shortlisted in the Speech Pathology Australia Book of the Year Awards— Five to 8 Years 2018
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
