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The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate
Hoist the Jolly Robin! Fly with a swashbuckling crew as they soar through the air — and evade danger on the ground — in search of treasure and lofty adventure. Captain Blue Jay, notorious and feared pirate of the skies, has a fondness for collecting treasure, especially eggs. Unfortunately, sometimes his treasure hatches, and this time the hatchling is the strangest one the Grosbeak has ever seen. No sailor is certain whether the chick is a young god or just an oversized bird who needs too much food, but one thing is clear: the winds over Thrushland are shifting, and dramatic changes are in store for all. Whether outwitting a gang of thieving crows, outrunning murderous fishers and weasels, or rallying Briarloch’s beleaguered sparrows, this motley crew must do all they can to stay together and stay alive. And that’s just the tip of the bird’s feather! Offering a bounty of illustrations and a host of memorable characters — from an endearing star-nosed mole to an unlikely little warrior with a vendetta — here is a treasure for anyone who has ever wanted to take to the skies and see where fortune blows.
369 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 25, 2012
24 people are currently reading
387 people want to read
About the author
Scott Nash
81 books26 followers"More and more, I'm being informed by television--animation---and children's books, both of which are sort of in my blood" says Scott Nash. "That's what my childhood was about." Inspired by everything from Uncle Wiggly and Raggedy Ann and Andy books to UNDERDOG cartoons and graphic novels, the celebrated illustrator recently made his authorial debut with TUFF FLUFF, a tongue-in-cheek mystery set in the shadowy corners of a toy-filled attic.
The vibrantly retro flair, humorous visual details, and pun-filled prose of TUFF FLUFF will have readers hot on the trail of a loveable, long-eared sleuth and his curious crew of discarded toys as they piece together a most peculiar puzzle. "I was aiming to create the sort of fantastic dramas that kids might play out with a cast of stuffed animals and action figures," Scott Nash explains. TUFF FLUFF is set "around the streets of Los Attic, a city that feels a little like Los Angeles stuck in a 1940s detective movies," adds the author-illustrator. "The cast of misfit toys created delightful opportunities for parodying the dialogue and style of classic film noir."
With TUFF FLUFF Scott Nash introduces writing to his repertoire, but he's no stranger the world of children's books. He's designed and illustrated more than twenty picture books to date, including the Brand New Readers MONKEY BUSINESS and MONKEY TROUBLE, both by David Martin. He says he found a special spark in his collaborations with Carol Diggory Shields, even though the two live on opposite coasts and have met only twice. "We must have been raised similarly or something, because we seem to have the same reference points," the illustrator notes.
After teaming up on MARTIAN ROCK and SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE DINOSAUR STOMP, author and artist discovered they had a favorite song in common, which led to their third book together. "There's a great old song by Burl Ives called 'The Ugly Bug Ball,' " Scott Nash explains. "Carol knew it, and I knew it, and that's how THE BUGLIEST BUG happened." Influenced by old cartoons and vintage picture books, the brilliant artwork in THE BUGLIEST BUG buzzes with exuberance, even if the illustrator admits to taking "huge liberties" with the bugs' physiology. "I decided they didn't really need to have six legs in every case," he says. "But I'm absolutely expecting to get trouble from kids about it."
Scott Nash is the cofounder of Big Blue Dot, a design studio that specializes in children's media. A native of Cape Cod, he now lives with his wife on an island off the coast of Maine.
The vibrantly retro flair, humorous visual details, and pun-filled prose of TUFF FLUFF will have readers hot on the trail of a loveable, long-eared sleuth and his curious crew of discarded toys as they piece together a most peculiar puzzle. "I was aiming to create the sort of fantastic dramas that kids might play out with a cast of stuffed animals and action figures," Scott Nash explains. TUFF FLUFF is set "around the streets of Los Attic, a city that feels a little like Los Angeles stuck in a 1940s detective movies," adds the author-illustrator. "The cast of misfit toys created delightful opportunities for parodying the dialogue and style of classic film noir."
With TUFF FLUFF Scott Nash introduces writing to his repertoire, but he's no stranger the world of children's books. He's designed and illustrated more than twenty picture books to date, including the Brand New Readers MONKEY BUSINESS and MONKEY TROUBLE, both by David Martin. He says he found a special spark in his collaborations with Carol Diggory Shields, even though the two live on opposite coasts and have met only twice. "We must have been raised similarly or something, because we seem to have the same reference points," the illustrator notes.
After teaming up on MARTIAN ROCK and SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE DINOSAUR STOMP, author and artist discovered they had a favorite song in common, which led to their third book together. "There's a great old song by Burl Ives called 'The Ugly Bug Ball,' " Scott Nash explains. "Carol knew it, and I knew it, and that's how THE BUGLIEST BUG happened." Influenced by old cartoons and vintage picture books, the brilliant artwork in THE BUGLIEST BUG buzzes with exuberance, even if the illustrator admits to taking "huge liberties" with the bugs' physiology. "I decided they didn't really need to have six legs in every case," he says. "But I'm absolutely expecting to get trouble from kids about it."
Scott Nash is the cofounder of Big Blue Dot, a design studio that specializes in children's media. A native of Cape Cod, he now lives with his wife on an island off the coast of Maine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
November 18, 2012
Nash has hand-crafted a love letter to traditional adventure novels with this title. Short, action packed chapters coupled with anthropomorphic bird-pirates and beautiful pen and ink illustrations make this a delightful page turner.
Set aboard the flying pirate ship Grosbeak, captained by the eponymous Blue Jay and crewed by a ragtag band of upstanding rogues, everything about this book is fun and exciting. Each crew member is a well designed, both visually and narratively, with characteristics drawn from their real life counterparts and enhanced with colorful traits that provides each one a unique voice.
At times the language and level of violence gets a little too gritty for young readers. Blue Jays crew battles with a gang of crows with lots of sword-swinging action, injuries and deaths. Kudos to the author and publisher for not shying away from it, but it does push this book to the older middle-grade reader.
This was my son's first chapter book bedtime read. He loved every minute of it, and still talks about it. He even asks for the occasional re-read. That's the kind of review you can't beat.
Set aboard the flying pirate ship Grosbeak, captained by the eponymous Blue Jay and crewed by a ragtag band of upstanding rogues, everything about this book is fun and exciting. Each crew member is a well designed, both visually and narratively, with characteristics drawn from their real life counterparts and enhanced with colorful traits that provides each one a unique voice.
At times the language and level of violence gets a little too gritty for young readers. Blue Jays crew battles with a gang of crows with lots of sword-swinging action, injuries and deaths. Kudos to the author and publisher for not shying away from it, but it does push this book to the older middle-grade reader.
This was my son's first chapter book bedtime read. He loved every minute of it, and still talks about it. He even asks for the occasional re-read. That's the kind of review you can't beat.
November 6, 2012
YA- A swashbuckling adventure of pirate birds finding their way in a world of spies, a controlling government, superstition and fearsome predators. Beautiful illustrations that really make the story cone to life. If anything, I wish that there was more to the story. It definitely feels like there will be more story coming! I'd say that it is appropriate for ages 7-14.
June 25, 2014
Maxwell gives it a five - I a 4. Fun to read, especially if you can do voices. But it does require some parental editing. The pirates talk pretty roughly to one another, a little too tough for a five year old. But we really enjoyed the relationship between the captain and his surprise guest....
March 5, 2013
Reviewed by Rusty Key Writer Jordan B. Nielsen
Recommended for: Mainly boys, aged 10 to 13 for its action based narrative, and general pirate-y appeal. Some moderate sword-related violence pushes this book to the higher end of the middle grade spectrum.
One Word Summary: Unfocused.
If I didn’t quite get the dose of swashbuckling pirate fun I was looking for in The Unfortunate Son, Scott Nash’s Blue Jay the Pirate goes a long way to bridge the difference. To be sure, Jay and his band of bird pirates walk the peg-leg walk and talk the drawling pirate talk. The masts of their vessel, the Grosbeak, tower, the sails billow, the riggings clatter and booty is plundered, but a pervasive lack of narrative focus leaves this book stranded in the fog without a guiding star.
Blue Jay follows the titular ship’s captain and his avian crew as they sail the skies under the banner of the Jolly Robin. The once free lands below have been overtaken and colonized by the Thrushians, a cruel race of birds who swiftly outlawed any form of migration, and levy huge seed taxes in order to keep the other races of birds subjugated and impoverished. Thus, Jay and his pirates live outside the law both in their movements and their thievery. But the crew of the Grosbeak isn’t allowed to fly above the fray for long. When Jay finds a large, strange egg in a siege, the crew soon finds themselves with a new mate: a newly hatched gosling. The goose is a rare creature in this world, god-like in mythology, and its presence aboard the ship quickly draws the crew into conflict. When they encounter the crow Teach and his militia, the fates of Jay and his men become entangled with a village of sparrows who have suffered under the violence of Teach for years. Wings clipped and ship stolen, Jay and the pirates go to ground to win back their own freedom and to defend the helpless sparrow residents of Briarloch.
There’s something pleasantly old-fashioned about the tone of Blue Jay, one which Nash clearly was aiming for as evidenced by a poem evoking Robert Louis Stevenson in the first pages. He references The Jungle Book and Robin Hood, but I’d also add Rikki Tikki Tavi and Stuart Little to the list of Nash’s potential influences. Nash’s illustrations, portraits really, fine line drawings of his characters in heroic poses, add greatly to the quiet sophistication and twee elegance of the book as a package.
Detracting from all that is likable about Blue Jay is its straying plot line and absence of a clear main character. Despite his name being on the cover, Jay disappears for large swaths of the story, and his development and desires don’t exactly propel the narrative. When Gabriel the gosling appears it begins to seem that his will be the driving focus, but that too is soon abandoned. This shifting character focus is paralleled by the multitude of plot lines that are picked up and put down throughout the story. Is this about a young sparrow out to avenge his friend’s murder? Is it about Junco, the female pirate who forms a motherly bond with the gosling? Is it about Gabriel coming into his own as a pirate and a goose? Is it about the suffering of the Thrushian colonies? Is it about Jay and his blood feud with Teach? In the end it was about all of these things, but ultimately none of them. With each character and plot sharing its time with all the others, I ended the book without a deep understanding of any one of them. Each of these stories could have been a book on its own, and I couldn’t help but have wished they had been, rather than packing slimmed down versions of each into a single book.
The wound is not fatal, however. Blue Jay is still enjoyable as a nostalgic adventure and offers something much more delicately wrought than the majority of content for the middle grade male demographic. My appetite for the perfect pirate story might not yet be fulfilled, but Blue Jay needn’t walk the plank.
For more reviews, author interviews, reading lists and articles from The Rusty Key, visit us at www.therustykey.com
Recommended for: Mainly boys, aged 10 to 13 for its action based narrative, and general pirate-y appeal. Some moderate sword-related violence pushes this book to the higher end of the middle grade spectrum.
One Word Summary: Unfocused.
If I didn’t quite get the dose of swashbuckling pirate fun I was looking for in The Unfortunate Son, Scott Nash’s Blue Jay the Pirate goes a long way to bridge the difference. To be sure, Jay and his band of bird pirates walk the peg-leg walk and talk the drawling pirate talk. The masts of their vessel, the Grosbeak, tower, the sails billow, the riggings clatter and booty is plundered, but a pervasive lack of narrative focus leaves this book stranded in the fog without a guiding star.
Blue Jay follows the titular ship’s captain and his avian crew as they sail the skies under the banner of the Jolly Robin. The once free lands below have been overtaken and colonized by the Thrushians, a cruel race of birds who swiftly outlawed any form of migration, and levy huge seed taxes in order to keep the other races of birds subjugated and impoverished. Thus, Jay and his pirates live outside the law both in their movements and their thievery. But the crew of the Grosbeak isn’t allowed to fly above the fray for long. When Jay finds a large, strange egg in a siege, the crew soon finds themselves with a new mate: a newly hatched gosling. The goose is a rare creature in this world, god-like in mythology, and its presence aboard the ship quickly draws the crew into conflict. When they encounter the crow Teach and his militia, the fates of Jay and his men become entangled with a village of sparrows who have suffered under the violence of Teach for years. Wings clipped and ship stolen, Jay and the pirates go to ground to win back their own freedom and to defend the helpless sparrow residents of Briarloch.
There’s something pleasantly old-fashioned about the tone of Blue Jay, one which Nash clearly was aiming for as evidenced by a poem evoking Robert Louis Stevenson in the first pages. He references The Jungle Book and Robin Hood, but I’d also add Rikki Tikki Tavi and Stuart Little to the list of Nash’s potential influences. Nash’s illustrations, portraits really, fine line drawings of his characters in heroic poses, add greatly to the quiet sophistication and twee elegance of the book as a package.
Detracting from all that is likable about Blue Jay is its straying plot line and absence of a clear main character. Despite his name being on the cover, Jay disappears for large swaths of the story, and his development and desires don’t exactly propel the narrative. When Gabriel the gosling appears it begins to seem that his will be the driving focus, but that too is soon abandoned. This shifting character focus is paralleled by the multitude of plot lines that are picked up and put down throughout the story. Is this about a young sparrow out to avenge his friend’s murder? Is it about Junco, the female pirate who forms a motherly bond with the gosling? Is it about Gabriel coming into his own as a pirate and a goose? Is it about the suffering of the Thrushian colonies? Is it about Jay and his blood feud with Teach? In the end it was about all of these things, but ultimately none of them. With each character and plot sharing its time with all the others, I ended the book without a deep understanding of any one of them. Each of these stories could have been a book on its own, and I couldn’t help but have wished they had been, rather than packing slimmed down versions of each into a single book.
The wound is not fatal, however. Blue Jay is still enjoyable as a nostalgic adventure and offers something much more delicately wrought than the majority of content for the middle grade male demographic. My appetite for the perfect pirate story might not yet be fulfilled, but Blue Jay needn’t walk the plank.
For more reviews, author interviews, reading lists and articles from The Rusty Key, visit us at www.therustykey.com
November 10, 2020
Our read aloud with my son. He rated it 4/5 stars because he said he didn't it that much. 😬
September 12, 2014
Captain Blue Jay the Pirate enjoys a fearsome reputation and a greed for treasure - in particular, eggs. But when he rescues an especially large egg from a raccoon, he and his crew end up with more than they bargained for when it hatches. It turns out to be a baby goose, which not only eats more than any of the rest of them but will eventually be larger than their ship, the Grosbeak. But Jay defends Gabriel the goose, saying someday he'll repay their friendship.
The idea for the story is interesting - birds as pirates. (After all I thought, I loved Watership Down, so why not?) And Scott Nash has created quite an interesting world where different species of birds form communities of farmers (sparrows), soldiers (thrushes), or pirates (crows, or other outcasts in the case of the ship Grosbeak). And there seems to be a substantial amount of back-story that went into the writing of this one, giving the idea that there's some real potential. Unfortunately, the story never really takes flight. There's no real central character here - not Jay, not Junco, not Gabriel - to really draw in the reader with a hero (and I was never certain if Jay was a good guy or not). It's clever the way the birds are worked into the story (and the main crow villain is named Teach, like Blackbeard), but the story just seemed flat to me.
The illustrations, however, are great and there are a lot of them. I'm not sure that's enough to hook many young readers who'll have to wade through half the book before it starts to get interesting. I'm also a little concerned about the intended audience. It says 8-11 years old, but parents will want to know that there's plenty of violence - just like pirates in real life.
The idea for the story is interesting - birds as pirates. (After all I thought, I loved Watership Down, so why not?) And Scott Nash has created quite an interesting world where different species of birds form communities of farmers (sparrows), soldiers (thrushes), or pirates (crows, or other outcasts in the case of the ship Grosbeak). And there seems to be a substantial amount of back-story that went into the writing of this one, giving the idea that there's some real potential. Unfortunately, the story never really takes flight. There's no real central character here - not Jay, not Junco, not Gabriel - to really draw in the reader with a hero (and I was never certain if Jay was a good guy or not). It's clever the way the birds are worked into the story (and the main crow villain is named Teach, like Blackbeard), but the story just seemed flat to me.
The illustrations, however, are great and there are a lot of them. I'm not sure that's enough to hook many young readers who'll have to wade through half the book before it starts to get interesting. I'm also a little concerned about the intended audience. It says 8-11 years old, but parents will want to know that there's plenty of violence - just like pirates in real life.
October 10, 2012
I enjoyed reading this book. Blue Jay and his crew provided an entertaining read filled with fun and adventure. Gabriel the newest crew member of the Gosbeck had a soft spot in my heart. He was not the brightest but he was kind. He was not fit to be a pirate but he did give it his all. While Blue Jay likes to think he is tough, he is a big softie at heart himself. I mean what other pirate captain has raised almost all of his crew from little baby birds to full fledged pirates.
The illustrations in this book were also great. Not that I myself needed the pictures to get the full story but they were an added plus. However for the younger readers, they will enjoy the pictures and seeing what Captain Blue Jay, Gabriel and the rest of Gosbeck crew look like. Another thing that I liked about this book was that for the younger readers, there were not a lot of big words. It was simple but had lots of action to keep the interest there on the characters and the story. I would recommend this book for boys and girls. I know that my nephews are going to have fun reading this book.
The illustrations in this book were also great. Not that I myself needed the pictures to get the full story but they were an added plus. However for the younger readers, they will enjoy the pictures and seeing what Captain Blue Jay, Gabriel and the rest of Gosbeck crew look like. Another thing that I liked about this book was that for the younger readers, there were not a lot of big words. It was simple but had lots of action to keep the interest there on the characters and the story. I would recommend this book for boys and girls. I know that my nephews are going to have fun reading this book.
April 27, 2020
intriguing and inspiring, I reread this page-turner 6 years later and it was just as good. no matter how many times I read this book it never gets old. 15 out of 10 stars
August 18, 2025
I'm not mad. But I am thoroughly disappointed that an author with all the correct ingredients for a thrilling, swashbuckling, anthropomorphic escapade manages to undercook some, burn others, misunderstand the rest and combine them in the most peculiarly bland way possible.
Redwall, this assuredly is not. Better titled The Almost Entirely Grounded Adventures of Everyone Else... Oh, Yeah and Blue Jay the Not-so-Piratical, this is a bummer of a misfire considering the promise on offer. The characters are there without leaving much of an impression for lack of development; blink and you'll miss the briefly savage bits of action; the one major story hook introduced early on goes precisely nowhere; the pacing clunks along and halts like a bicyclist in a boulder field; the dialogue is written as though every character speaks alike; and the final third of the tale chews and swallows narrative interest with manners akin to a teen on a pizza.
The saving graces are one character, Hillary, who was genuinely charming, engaging and whose own adventures I'd much rather have read over that of the birds', and the illustrations throughout, which are genuinely great and speak to where this author/illustrator's talents far more so lie. His prose, characterization, structure and plotting need a hefty amount of improvement and the spirit of his chosen title should invigorate the content of his story.
Redwall, this assuredly is not. Better titled The Almost Entirely Grounded Adventures of Everyone Else... Oh, Yeah and Blue Jay the Not-so-Piratical, this is a bummer of a misfire considering the promise on offer. The characters are there without leaving much of an impression for lack of development; blink and you'll miss the briefly savage bits of action; the one major story hook introduced early on goes precisely nowhere; the pacing clunks along and halts like a bicyclist in a boulder field; the dialogue is written as though every character speaks alike; and the final third of the tale chews and swallows narrative interest with manners akin to a teen on a pizza.
The saving graces are one character, Hillary, who was genuinely charming, engaging and whose own adventures I'd much rather have read over that of the birds', and the illustrations throughout, which are genuinely great and speak to where this author/illustrator's talents far more so lie. His prose, characterization, structure and plotting need a hefty amount of improvement and the spirit of his chosen title should invigorate the content of his story.
July 21, 2020
I very much loved this book. It reminded me of the fantasy and and adventure books I'd read as a kid, and it was great going back to that. This book features an ensemble cast filled with memorable characters tied together by Blue Jay and his ship, the Grosbeak. This book very much felt like a set up to a sequel with its detailed world-building and mention of world events that would surely impact the characters, but did not in the book. I hope that there is a sequel someday as I very much enjoy Blue Jay's world.
Also the illustrations were excellent!
Also the illustrations were excellent!
January 24, 2024
An adorable little book about adventuring in the skies with a crew of bird pirates. If you need any more of a recommendation I originally read this when I was a child and even though I only remember bits of it it stayed in my memories for so long that I was able to Google the name of the book just by typing in "bluejay pirate story" 🤣 I think it would be especially good for middle schoolers who are starting to get into fantasy but don't want a thick book to read. 😊
June 15, 2018
A great little story that can be read to children quite easily, but it has plenty of action, adventure, and a decent plot to boot that it can be enjoyed by older audiences as well. I had fun reading this book from beginning to end with my little brother, and at the end of the day that's what it's all about.
August 18, 2019
The The High Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate is a book about pirate birds who find a goose egg that accidentally hatches. The pirates later consider to abandon the gosling near its own kind, and they shipwreck in Black Point, where crows take their ship, clip their wings, and throw them overboard. A lesson I absorbed from the book was to always think positive and to never give up. I also learned that panicking will do nothing, and that you must take action instead.
August 30, 2020
This was fine, but I felt a little confused about the age it was geared toward. It's obviously middle grade, but aspects feel more lower middle grade, others upper middle grade, and it was a lot more violent and even bloody than middle grade usually is. It was fine, but I would have a hard time recommending it to someone.
June 5, 2017
I really enjoyed reading this to my son. I especially liked how they didn't wrap up all the characters at the end, leaving room for interpretation.
June 8, 2017
This book was perfect to read to my six-year-old. Love.
September 14, 2017
Started super slow, but good middle and end
January 6, 2019
We listened to this on a long road trip. Parents and kid alike thought it was clever and great.
February 3, 2020
A cute and fun story. A little bit silly, but also with a surprising amount of political candidness. I think many kids would enjoy it. 3.5 stars.
August 5, 2020
I felt like the illustrations in this were more compelling than the actual story, but I still enjoyed it even though I had no idea what was going on most of the time.
August 28, 2022
I read this one to my kids. My 7 and 6 year old loved it. The story was entertaining and creative. The pictures are beautiful. A great book to read aloud!
February 12, 2013
Don’t let the flowing fonts on the cover page or the charming character portraits sprinkled throughout the book to fool you into thinking that this is just another lighthearted children’s story. Although the story follows the typical plot line, there’s more depth and maturity in Nash’s characters than one would expect from a kids’ novel. Blue Jay, the captain of the Grosbeak, has a fearsome reputation that precedes him, but his shipmates respect and admire him, which is enough to make him endearing to any reader. The trouble starts when the crew pick up a large egg to add to Jay’s collection. The navigator, Junco, intuitively knows that there is something special about the egg, and after rotating shifts with her shipmates to hatch it, out pops a gosling—a baby Branta goose. The fact that Gabriel the goose has an insatiable appetite, moves around clumsily, and has the potential wingspan equal to the width of the Grosbeak are only some of the problems the pirates face. They must also deal with a bout of the doldrums and, as a result of being unable to kedge long enough to catch an airstream, they must face treacherous crows who are led by Jay’s cousin, Teach. It will take luck, strategy, and a few unlikely alliances for Junco, Gabriel, Jay, and the rest of the Grosbeak to make it to Oak’s Eye Cay alive. The action and humour in The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate as well as Nash’s company of charismatic characters will make fans of young and old alike.
Story & Pacing: 9
At 368 pages, this story is quite long for a children’s book, but the font is pretty big and there are pictures scattered throughout, which make it quite easy to get through it quickly. Of course, the story itself captures the reader’s attention. The chapters are short and easily digestible, and there are numerous conflicts that lead up to the crisis and climax of the story. The length of the story was actually a plus for me: as a child, I rather enjoyed longer stories in which I could invest in plot and character.
Characters: 9
With a large cast of characters, it is sometimes hard to make a connection with any one, but Nash has created strong birds with distinct personalities that it’s easy to empathize with any of them. Jay is a tough but fair captain; Junco’s maternal instincts soften the male-dominant crew; Gabriel is adorable as a gosling and honourable as full-fledged goose; and Poppa Fox is a respectable, elderly sparrow whose loyalty to his town and tavern make him the gentle grandpa of the story.
Setting: 8
The first part of the tale is set mostly in the air, high above the various bird-inhabited lands. The map that Nash gives at the beginning of the book helps to visualize the direction of the Grosbeak’s travels, and the various illustrations—including that of Briarloch, of the crew kedging before they are shipwrecked, and of the battle against the crows, among others—definitely enhance the action and atmosphere of the story. It would have been nice to see what Hillary’s underground maze looked like, too!
Style & Writing: 9
One thing that I really enjoyed in this book is Nash’s writing style. He is not afraid to use complex sentences peppered with polysyllabic words despite the fact that the story is geared for kids 9-13. I feel like he was treating his (targeted) audience as equals and in “speaking” to us as if we were adults, he both shows respect for our ability to understand the story and demands our attention to the fine details (both in his story and illustrations) of it.
Learnability & Teachability: 7
This is an excellent book for teachers to use in teaching the various parts of a plot graph. At the very least, readers will be introduced to a plethora of bird species from the crew of the Grosbeak alone. There are lots of deeper issues to discuss, too, including loyalty, bravery, and the kindness of strangers. That being said, this is more a book to read for leisure than for learning.
POTENTIAL TEACHABLES
Bird species; morality of piracy; codes among pirates; parts of a ship; duties on a ship; sword varieties and sword parts; plants and other vegetation; allusions to wars and other real events; colonization; banning migration; taxation/giving one’s earnings to the state; strategic planning; illustrations—choosing which scenes to depict and which vantage point to use.
Story & Pacing: 9
At 368 pages, this story is quite long for a children’s book, but the font is pretty big and there are pictures scattered throughout, which make it quite easy to get through it quickly. Of course, the story itself captures the reader’s attention. The chapters are short and easily digestible, and there are numerous conflicts that lead up to the crisis and climax of the story. The length of the story was actually a plus for me: as a child, I rather enjoyed longer stories in which I could invest in plot and character.
Characters: 9
With a large cast of characters, it is sometimes hard to make a connection with any one, but Nash has created strong birds with distinct personalities that it’s easy to empathize with any of them. Jay is a tough but fair captain; Junco’s maternal instincts soften the male-dominant crew; Gabriel is adorable as a gosling and honourable as full-fledged goose; and Poppa Fox is a respectable, elderly sparrow whose loyalty to his town and tavern make him the gentle grandpa of the story.
Setting: 8
The first part of the tale is set mostly in the air, high above the various bird-inhabited lands. The map that Nash gives at the beginning of the book helps to visualize the direction of the Grosbeak’s travels, and the various illustrations—including that of Briarloch, of the crew kedging before they are shipwrecked, and of the battle against the crows, among others—definitely enhance the action and atmosphere of the story. It would have been nice to see what Hillary’s underground maze looked like, too!
Style & Writing: 9
One thing that I really enjoyed in this book is Nash’s writing style. He is not afraid to use complex sentences peppered with polysyllabic words despite the fact that the story is geared for kids 9-13. I feel like he was treating his (targeted) audience as equals and in “speaking” to us as if we were adults, he both shows respect for our ability to understand the story and demands our attention to the fine details (both in his story and illustrations) of it.
Learnability & Teachability: 7
This is an excellent book for teachers to use in teaching the various parts of a plot graph. At the very least, readers will be introduced to a plethora of bird species from the crew of the Grosbeak alone. There are lots of deeper issues to discuss, too, including loyalty, bravery, and the kindness of strangers. That being said, this is more a book to read for leisure than for learning.
POTENTIAL TEACHABLES
Bird species; morality of piracy; codes among pirates; parts of a ship; duties on a ship; sword varieties and sword parts; plants and other vegetation; allusions to wars and other real events; colonization; banning migration; taxation/giving one’s earnings to the state; strategic planning; illustrations—choosing which scenes to depict and which vantage point to use.
June 2, 2022
April 2022 Nathanael really liked this one.
September 10, 2012
I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. This was a very cute book with some wonderful illustrations about a pirate bird named Blue Jay and his crew.
Blue Jay the Pirate is the most feared pirate of the skies and has a hankering for collecting beautiful eggs. When one of the eggs hatches to produce a gosling, things change for Blue Jay and his crew. Eventually Blue Jay and his crew find themselves allying with the sparrows from Briarloch to take out a gang of mean and vicious crows. Ends up Gabriel the gosling has a rather large role to play in it all.
This was a fun and cute story aimed at the younger age set. All the characters in the story are animals, mostly different types of birds. It is fun to watch how well the birds on the pirate ship work together, even during disagreements.
Gabriel is a great character, and although he doesn’t fit in and seems like a detriment to the pirating crew, in the end he figures out how to use his differences to help out his friends and save the day. This is a great message about learning to embrace your differences and make the best of them rather than try to be someone you’re not.
There are some great action scenes between the birds and the crows. Again it is fun to watch as the pirating birds and the landbound sparrows are able to set aside differences and unite to fight against a greater evil when the need is there.
This is a great adventure tale about friendship, teamwork, and embracing differences. The pictures throughout are beautiful and very well done. I read an advanced reading copy so they were all in black and white, but the final book is supposed to be in full color and I am eager to see this.
The book is aimed at a younger age set. As such the words used are fairly simple and the plot is very straightforward. I’d recommend for kids age 8+. Young adults and older might find the story a bit too simple to really be engaging.
Overall a cute and fun read with some beautiful illustrations. A great adventure story about friendship, teamwork, and embracing your differences. The plot and language is fairly simple; so I would recommend for kids who love pirates. Young adults and older will probably find the story too simple to be very engaging. Younger pirate fans though should be highly entertained.
Blue Jay the Pirate is the most feared pirate of the skies and has a hankering for collecting beautiful eggs. When one of the eggs hatches to produce a gosling, things change for Blue Jay and his crew. Eventually Blue Jay and his crew find themselves allying with the sparrows from Briarloch to take out a gang of mean and vicious crows. Ends up Gabriel the gosling has a rather large role to play in it all.
This was a fun and cute story aimed at the younger age set. All the characters in the story are animals, mostly different types of birds. It is fun to watch how well the birds on the pirate ship work together, even during disagreements.
Gabriel is a great character, and although he doesn’t fit in and seems like a detriment to the pirating crew, in the end he figures out how to use his differences to help out his friends and save the day. This is a great message about learning to embrace your differences and make the best of them rather than try to be someone you’re not.
There are some great action scenes between the birds and the crows. Again it is fun to watch as the pirating birds and the landbound sparrows are able to set aside differences and unite to fight against a greater evil when the need is there.
This is a great adventure tale about friendship, teamwork, and embracing differences. The pictures throughout are beautiful and very well done. I read an advanced reading copy so they were all in black and white, but the final book is supposed to be in full color and I am eager to see this.
The book is aimed at a younger age set. As such the words used are fairly simple and the plot is very straightforward. I’d recommend for kids age 8+. Young adults and older might find the story a bit too simple to really be engaging.
Overall a cute and fun read with some beautiful illustrations. A great adventure story about friendship, teamwork, and embracing your differences. The plot and language is fairly simple; so I would recommend for kids who love pirates. Young adults and older will probably find the story too simple to be very engaging. Younger pirate fans though should be highly entertained.
October 8, 2012
This is a story about pirates. But not just any pirates - bird pirates. Their ship flies, their plunder is seed, and their Captain is the notorious Blue Jay. This is also the story of what happens when Blue Jay's band of pirates end up with a gosling on board - so big, awkward and gangly that there is little the poor guy can do right in the pirating world. When adventure and scallywags strike, will they all be ready?
I started out a bit hesitant about the book - curious, but not really convinced that bird pirates would be a good idea. My lack of conviction died about half way through, and stayed buried until the end. It really is a well-written story, and uses the real-life qualities of the birds to accent their characters within the book. It is apparent that the author enjoys birds and has a pretty decent knowledge base with which to draw from. The story start a little bit slow, but picks up speed and keeps a pretty good pace the rest of the way through. The illustrations are lovely - my Vine edition didn't have color, but the black and white versions were pretty darn wonderful. I'm sure the color will be even better.
As a teacher, I found so many things that could be pulled from the book for further discussion/exploration. Friendship, bullying, being yourself, science (the different kinds of birds, star-nosed moles, migration, etc.), fables (there is one in the book about how the crow lost it's voice and became black)...these are just a few of the topics I can pick out right off the top of my head. The nice thing is that unlike some books with multiple topics, there isn't any preaching. It's just a good story that kids will enjoy with some added information.
I would definitely recommend this book. I believe it would appeal to both boys and girls, probably in the 3-6 grade range. Even better, it would be extremely well-suited for out loud reading, both in the classroom and at home. The ending certainly concludes this story, but also seems to leave open the possibility that this could be a series. I can say with no hesitation that I would enjoy reading another tale of Blue Jay and his pirate crew!
I started out a bit hesitant about the book - curious, but not really convinced that bird pirates would be a good idea. My lack of conviction died about half way through, and stayed buried until the end. It really is a well-written story, and uses the real-life qualities of the birds to accent their characters within the book. It is apparent that the author enjoys birds and has a pretty decent knowledge base with which to draw from. The story start a little bit slow, but picks up speed and keeps a pretty good pace the rest of the way through. The illustrations are lovely - my Vine edition didn't have color, but the black and white versions were pretty darn wonderful. I'm sure the color will be even better.
As a teacher, I found so many things that could be pulled from the book for further discussion/exploration. Friendship, bullying, being yourself, science (the different kinds of birds, star-nosed moles, migration, etc.), fables (there is one in the book about how the crow lost it's voice and became black)...these are just a few of the topics I can pick out right off the top of my head. The nice thing is that unlike some books with multiple topics, there isn't any preaching. It's just a good story that kids will enjoy with some added information.
I would definitely recommend this book. I believe it would appeal to both boys and girls, probably in the 3-6 grade range. Even better, it would be extremely well-suited for out loud reading, both in the classroom and at home. The ending certainly concludes this story, but also seems to leave open the possibility that this could be a series. I can say with no hesitation that I would enjoy reading another tale of Blue Jay and his pirate crew!
May 9, 2013
Summary:
Blue Jay the Pirate collects eggs. One day he gets a rather unusual one that immediately calls out the motherly instincts of the navigator Junco. Once the egg hatches, the crew upon the Grosbeak find they have a baby goose on their hands. The gosling eats like crazy and grows to be bigger than the little ship, but he struggles to learn to fly. As with all pirates, the Grosbeak goes through times of great treasure to times of not so great treasure. While the gosling, Gabriel, is growing, the Grosbeak goes through a bit of a rough time. They are unable to catch a good wind and eventually crash. During the crash, Gabriel falls out and Junco deserts the crew to help him. Blue Jay and the crew crash into crow territory and have to face off with a fierce enemy. As an good pirate adventure goes, the crew must reunite and stand together in order to have a chance of success.
My thoughts:
I had a great time with this book. Since it is a children's book, based with an audience of 4th-6th grade, I didn't have the same expectations that I would with a young adult book. I wanted a quick, fun read that didn't make me think about underlying meanings. This is very straightforward. The vocabulary is a little tough for the younger reader, especially since there are a lot of bird references. Some of the slight changes to make a word more relevant to a bird are difficult if you do not have some background knowledge or a good vocabulary to notice the slight shifts. I appreciated the traditional pirate aspects of singing, camaraderie, capturing ships, sword-fighting, and treasure (bird seed). The pirates also represent misfits that come together to build strong relationships. The overall story could have accomplished the same end with far fewer pages, but I enjoyed the meandering ride. I'm not sure why there is a possible ending before the actual ending, but I suppose that it adds to the feeling of being told a tale from an actual pirate. What spoken tale does not move around a bit?
Blue Jay the Pirate collects eggs. One day he gets a rather unusual one that immediately calls out the motherly instincts of the navigator Junco. Once the egg hatches, the crew upon the Grosbeak find they have a baby goose on their hands. The gosling eats like crazy and grows to be bigger than the little ship, but he struggles to learn to fly. As with all pirates, the Grosbeak goes through times of great treasure to times of not so great treasure. While the gosling, Gabriel, is growing, the Grosbeak goes through a bit of a rough time. They are unable to catch a good wind and eventually crash. During the crash, Gabriel falls out and Junco deserts the crew to help him. Blue Jay and the crew crash into crow territory and have to face off with a fierce enemy. As an good pirate adventure goes, the crew must reunite and stand together in order to have a chance of success.
My thoughts:
I had a great time with this book. Since it is a children's book, based with an audience of 4th-6th grade, I didn't have the same expectations that I would with a young adult book. I wanted a quick, fun read that didn't make me think about underlying meanings. This is very straightforward. The vocabulary is a little tough for the younger reader, especially since there are a lot of bird references. Some of the slight changes to make a word more relevant to a bird are difficult if you do not have some background knowledge or a good vocabulary to notice the slight shifts. I appreciated the traditional pirate aspects of singing, camaraderie, capturing ships, sword-fighting, and treasure (bird seed). The pirates also represent misfits that come together to build strong relationships. The overall story could have accomplished the same end with far fewer pages, but I enjoyed the meandering ride. I'm not sure why there is a possible ending before the actual ending, but I suppose that it adds to the feeling of being told a tale from an actual pirate. What spoken tale does not move around a bit?
December 29, 2012
This book is fun for bird and pirate lovers alike! Blue Jay, feared captain of the Grosbeak, was said to be the most fearsome and bloodthirsty pirate of the skies. Those who saw the Jolly Robin flying from the mast offered little resistance and so Blue Jay's gruesome reputation as a ruthless pirate grew and grew. The crew, though pirate to be sure - in a ship faster than most of the merchant vessels sailing though the Thrushian skies - knew Blue Jay to be a fair, just captain, thoughtful and a stalwart optimist.
One habit that set Blue Jay apart was his fascination with eggs - not as food but as treasure. "The trouble with eggs," Jay would often joke to is adopted offspring, now part of the Grosbeak's crew, "is that they sometimes grow legs!" That statepment is rather prophetic as the adventure told of The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate begins with the finding of one very rare egg indeed. A large oval beauty, plain, though with a certain elegant majesty. Brought onboard and stored with the other specimen in the Egg Gallery, the egg causes Junco, the chief navigator to behave oddly which precipitates an unusual meeting with the sparrows of Briarloch which in turn leads to a confrontation with Teach, head of the murderous mod of crows plaguing and terrorizing the land.
A string of bad luck leaves the Grosbeak shipwrecked, many of the crew lost or wounded and the survivors left for dead with the flight feathers clipped on the forest floor - all seems lost, but Blue Jay - the eternal optimist and endless schemer will find a way out of the dilemma...if only there is enough time and a good wind for sailing. Read The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate to see how the wind blows and who ultimately prevails - it won't be all you expect.
I am hoping more adventures will come along. I would like to know what happens to Henry and Gabriel and Hillary. What about Poppa and what of Briarloch? What do you think?
One habit that set Blue Jay apart was his fascination with eggs - not as food but as treasure. "The trouble with eggs," Jay would often joke to is adopted offspring, now part of the Grosbeak's crew, "is that they sometimes grow legs!" That statepment is rather prophetic as the adventure told of The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate begins with the finding of one very rare egg indeed. A large oval beauty, plain, though with a certain elegant majesty. Brought onboard and stored with the other specimen in the Egg Gallery, the egg causes Junco, the chief navigator to behave oddly which precipitates an unusual meeting with the sparrows of Briarloch which in turn leads to a confrontation with Teach, head of the murderous mod of crows plaguing and terrorizing the land.
A string of bad luck leaves the Grosbeak shipwrecked, many of the crew lost or wounded and the survivors left for dead with the flight feathers clipped on the forest floor - all seems lost, but Blue Jay - the eternal optimist and endless schemer will find a way out of the dilemma...if only there is enough time and a good wind for sailing. Read The High-Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate to see how the wind blows and who ultimately prevails - it won't be all you expect.
I am hoping more adventures will come along. I would like to know what happens to Henry and Gabriel and Hillary. What about Poppa and what of Briarloch? What do you think?
March 13, 2016
Nothing really wrong with this book, it just didn't captivate me much. The story didn't feel like it was particularly about Blue Jay. Though there were several pov characters, a new addition to the crew felt like the more central one.
By the end I did feel like there were many occasions where time was spent on elements and descriptions that didn't really add to the story, including a couple pages describing a place that they never actually went to. But that has not affected my rating. I felt it was at 3 stars consistently through the whole book.
Similarly, if I were to nitpick, the characters were not very well developed - based on types not depth - and there were only two female characters, the second of which was incredibly irritating in her "type". I know you're going to say "it's a pirate story" (which could be argued, given the actual plot), "there wouldn't be many females." To which I would say, that's actually not historically true. Plus, they're birds. If you're going to stretch the imagination to a world where birds can grip things with their wings, there shouldn't be anything jarring about having more of those birds be female. Or even the mole, whose name was Hillary, yet was male. But again, that was not a factor in my rating. Just something that stuck out to me as an adult female reading this book.
Though the plot didn't do much for me, the concept was enjoyable and the artwork delightful. Enough for me to give it a pass on making crows the bad guys. (Really, I do get tired of my favourite animals always getting a bad rep just because they're black and smart. Incidentally, I recently found a collection of stories from Child Life Magazine in the 1920s where a Pirate Blue Jay tries to rob Mrs. Robin. And the crows come down and save the day, putting Pirate Blue Jay on the straight path again. So... not the first time a Pirate Blue Jay has appeared in print pitted against a flock of crows. Hm.)
By the end I did feel like there were many occasions where time was spent on elements and descriptions that didn't really add to the story, including a couple pages describing a place that they never actually went to. But that has not affected my rating. I felt it was at 3 stars consistently through the whole book.
Similarly, if I were to nitpick, the characters were not very well developed - based on types not depth - and there were only two female characters, the second of which was incredibly irritating in her "type". I know you're going to say "it's a pirate story" (which could be argued, given the actual plot), "there wouldn't be many females." To which I would say, that's actually not historically true. Plus, they're birds. If you're going to stretch the imagination to a world where birds can grip things with their wings, there shouldn't be anything jarring about having more of those birds be female. Or even the mole, whose name was Hillary, yet was male. But again, that was not a factor in my rating. Just something that stuck out to me as an adult female reading this book.
Though the plot didn't do much for me, the concept was enjoyable and the artwork delightful. Enough for me to give it a pass on making crows the bad guys. (Really, I do get tired of my favourite animals always getting a bad rep just because they're black and smart. Incidentally, I recently found a collection of stories from Child Life Magazine in the 1920s where a Pirate Blue Jay tries to rob Mrs. Robin. And the crows come down and save the day, putting Pirate Blue Jay on the straight path again. So... not the first time a Pirate Blue Jay has appeared in print pitted against a flock of crows. Hm.)
February 9, 2013
I got this book through one of the Goodreads First Reads giveaways. It was a cute take on the world of birds. I enjoyed the premise of a collection of misfit birds as pirates. I think I especially enjoyed the references to the birds and their behavior and personality because my father was a somewhat avid bird observer while I was growing up, so it brought up some old memories and familiar creatures. I'm also a big fan of pirate adventures. The idea of a blue jay pirate struck an apt chord having watched how they behave while feeding around other birds.
I felt like the book had a little trouble getting off the ground initially. It took me a little bit to get into the story at first, but it started moving along a little better for me after a couple of chapters. The story line as a whole was well laid out. The writing was generally clear. There might have been one or two points when I had to go back and reread a section because something didn't seem to make sense to me, but that could be because I had read it incorrectly. I didn't find it to be clear initially that the pirates were sailing on the air, not on water. Some things made more sense once I put that together. Again that may have been a lack of attention to detail on my part (I guess I should have gathered that from the title). The illustrations were well done. My only complaint there was that the sizes of the birds in comparison to one another was sometimes off. I don't know if that was intended or not. They were quite cute and amusing though. You don't often see birds dressed up in little coats and hats.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I'm considering passing it on to my nieces. I will have to run it by their parents first since some of the language might be appropriate for pirates, but might be frowned upon by some parents of younger children.
I felt like the book had a little trouble getting off the ground initially. It took me a little bit to get into the story at first, but it started moving along a little better for me after a couple of chapters. The story line as a whole was well laid out. The writing was generally clear. There might have been one or two points when I had to go back and reread a section because something didn't seem to make sense to me, but that could be because I had read it incorrectly. I didn't find it to be clear initially that the pirates were sailing on the air, not on water. Some things made more sense once I put that together. Again that may have been a lack of attention to detail on my part (I guess I should have gathered that from the title). The illustrations were well done. My only complaint there was that the sizes of the birds in comparison to one another was sometimes off. I don't know if that was intended or not. They were quite cute and amusing though. You don't often see birds dressed up in little coats and hats.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I'm considering passing it on to my nieces. I will have to run it by their parents first since some of the language might be appropriate for pirates, but might be frowned upon by some parents of younger children.
September 1, 2012
Reviewed at: http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/...
Anthropomorphism in books can go either way: amazing or stretching. Blue Jay the Pirate definitely more amazing than stretching. Scott Nash makes a world of birds that could theoretically exist up in the sky. First we meet Blue Jay the Pirate who is an outlaw causing havoc to supply ships and other ships with treasures. He is one of the most feared pirates of the skies; however, he has a secret passion- collecting bird eggs. So, one day when he sees a strange, large egg he must have it and all of a sudden trouble envelopes his ship, the Grosbeak.
This novel is such a fun, swashbuckling adventure that you even begin to forget that the main characters are birds. The heroes are just as heroic as human characters and the villains are just as villainous. It will be a great book to recommend for fans of anthropomorphic books like Redwall and Seekers as well as pirate and adventure fans.
Mentor texts for: Poetry, Foreshadowing, Description, Allusion, Science and Sailing vocabulary, Iambic pentamenter
Snatch of text:
Whilst fighting fearsome Finch's feet, we'be
sung out, "Yo! Heave ho!"
And hearing hawks hanging high have I
nobly faced the foe;
Then put round the grog, so we've that on our
prog,
We'll laugh in strife's homely face, and sing,
"Yo! Heave ho!"
We'll laugh in strife's homely face, and sing,
"Yo! Heave ho!" (p. 1)
"It was about this tiny crow named Napoleon, who was about the size of a hummingbird. Well, Napoleon, he developed an attitude on account of his being so di-mun-u-tive - that means tiny -" And Crookie was off, launching into what turned out to be a very long story." (p. 276)
Anthropomorphism in books can go either way: amazing or stretching. Blue Jay the Pirate definitely more amazing than stretching. Scott Nash makes a world of birds that could theoretically exist up in the sky. First we meet Blue Jay the Pirate who is an outlaw causing havoc to supply ships and other ships with treasures. He is one of the most feared pirates of the skies; however, he has a secret passion- collecting bird eggs. So, one day when he sees a strange, large egg he must have it and all of a sudden trouble envelopes his ship, the Grosbeak.
This novel is such a fun, swashbuckling adventure that you even begin to forget that the main characters are birds. The heroes are just as heroic as human characters and the villains are just as villainous. It will be a great book to recommend for fans of anthropomorphic books like Redwall and Seekers as well as pirate and adventure fans.
Mentor texts for: Poetry, Foreshadowing, Description, Allusion, Science and Sailing vocabulary, Iambic pentamenter
Snatch of text:
Whilst fighting fearsome Finch's feet, we'be
sung out, "Yo! Heave ho!"
And hearing hawks hanging high have I
nobly faced the foe;
Then put round the grog, so we've that on our
prog,
We'll laugh in strife's homely face, and sing,
"Yo! Heave ho!"
We'll laugh in strife's homely face, and sing,
"Yo! Heave ho!" (p. 1)
"It was about this tiny crow named Napoleon, who was about the size of a hummingbird. Well, Napoleon, he developed an attitude on account of his being so di-mun-u-tive - that means tiny -" And Crookie was off, launching into what turned out to be a very long story." (p. 276)
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