Kid Konnection: Pirates & Giveaway

Every Saturday, I host a feature called Kid Konnection -- a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. Today, I'm going to share with you a fun book called FISH about a boy who ends up living as a pirate! I realize that I'm a few days late for International Talk Like a Pirate Day (it was September 19th), but here at Booking Mama, we are still celebrating -- see the bottom of this post for a giveaway. It's better late than never, right?

Summary: Fish--nicknamed for his incredible swimming abilities--is a twelve-year-old boy from a poor farming family. After taking a job as a courier for his uncle, Fish is waylaid by pirates, who steal the package he's carrying. He soon learns that it's the key to locating the Chain of Chuacar, a legendary treasure. As he works to earn the trust of Cobb, the fortune-hunting captain of the Scurvy Mistress, Fish learns of a mutiny headed by a nasty pirate called Scab. With time running out to find the Chain, Fish and some fellow shipmates still loyal to Cobb must thwart Scab's dastardly plan. -- Scholastic

In honor of International Speak Like a Pirate Day, I decided to read FISH by Gregory Mone. FISH is a very fun middle grade book that I found highly entertaining, and I'm sure kids will love it too. I think even even the most reluctant of male readers are going to enjoy reading about Fish's adventures on a pirate ship!

I found the concept of FISH to be so creative. Fish is a farm boy who is forced to move to the city when his family needs extra money. He takes a job as a courier and finds himself in a heap of trouble when pirates steal a very important package. Fish soon learns that the package might contain the key to a huge treasure and he must do everything in his power to save the day!

FISH is a fast-moving adventure story that is guaranteed to entertain young readers. Of course, there are lots of pirates and pirate adventures that kids will find exciting, but there is also some mystery, intrigue, and even  betrayal in this story! In addition to the captivating storyline, FISH was also a very funny book. There were humorous characters who seemed to end up in some very funny situations.

However, what I loved the most about this book was the character of Fish. He was just a wonderful character who demonstrated that nice guys can finish first. As a mother, I just loved Fish and what he stood for. Despite all of the hardships that he faced, Fish stayed true to himself. He was extremely smart and hard-working, and at the same time, he was loyal to his friends. He refused to fight other pirates (he actually practiced learning non-fight moves) and he used all of his God-given skills to save his friends and search for the treasure.

I highly recommend FISH for middle grade readers. The book is filled with suspense and humor and also some very good messages!

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, please leave a comment as well as a link below with your name/blog name and the title of the book! Feel free to grab the little button too!



Giveaway alert: Thanks to the fine folks at Scholastic, I have a copy of FISH to share with one lucky reader. To enter, just fill out the form below. I will be accepting entries until October 8th at 11:59 p.m. ET, and I will notify the winner the following day. Open to US and Canada mailing addresses only. Good luck!