Early Reader: Poppy the Pirate Dog's New Shipmate

Poppy the Pirate Dog

by Liz Kessler

Poppy the Pirate Dog's New Shipmate Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey.Poppy is not very happy to discover that she is getting a new shipmate - a kitten called George. She's sure he'll be stealing her pirate treasure, taking her favourite spot by the fire, and generally caus... Full description

Genres: Dogs, Pirates, Friendship, Animals

80 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2013

About the author

Liz Kessler is the author of three novels about Philippa Fisher as well as the NEW YORK TIMES best-selling Emily Windsnap series. She lives in Manchester, England.

Reviews

[Becky Loader]

Poppy is bored. Summer is over and no-one is round to help her bury her treasure. What is a pirate dog to do?

When her family decides to get Poppy a friend, she is thrilled and can't wait to meet her new shipmate! She imagines all kinds of new pirate friends.
Wait!!! Who shows up? George?? A kitten???!

Poppy and George have a few adventures on the way to becoming shipmates. After all, George is pretty cute, but he does have pirate-like claws.

All's well that end's well.

[Bridget]

4.5/5

[Jessica]

Poppy the dog is lonely at home when everyone else is at work and school. The family is going to get her a little brother! But the little brother ends up being a cat. Cute story.

[Vanessa]

Delightful story with great pictures

[Barbara]

When her human companions realize that Poppy, their Pirate Dog, is lonely, they decide to provide company for her. Unfortunately, their choice is not what she had in mind. At first Poppy wants nothing to do with George, the fluffy kitten that enters her home. She becomes territorial and guards all her toys from him. But when things get tough for George, Poppy comes to save the day. Maybe there is room in the house for a couple of animal pirates, after all. The story is adorable, and the animals behave pretty much in the way you might expect. The ink and watercolor illustrations enhance the story by revealing the animals' feelings through their facial expressions.

[Kate McGinty aka Caryn Caldwell]

When Poppy the dog's girl and boy go back to school, she quickly becomes lonely and bored. To help her out, her family promises her a new playmate, but George is not what Poppy expected. He takes all the attention, he drinks Poppy's water, he plays with her toys, and, worst of all, he's a cat.

This cute and colorful early reader makes for a quick, funny story. The text and illustrations perfectly capture the nature of dogs -- up until the very un-doglike ending, at least. Many kids will sympathize with Poppy's plight, while learning a lesson about friendship and adaptability right along with her.

[Penny Peck]

At first glance this may look like another serviceable easy reader, but the story is quite memorable. Poppy thinks his family is acquiring a new puppy but he finds out the new pet is a kitten! But the two soon bond in what could have been a predictable story. Instead, the short chapters describe their growing friendship. The cartoon-like watercolor illustrations will help readers guess some of the vocabulary - for those who read at approx. the level of Lobel's "Frog and Toad" series, this is a strong new series with an "odd couple" as the main characters.

[Naomi]

Really mediocre. Even as a children's book I found this book, including the illustrations to be boring. There was nothing that stood out to me.

[Joy Lane]

early chapter book and AR level 3.6 with 0.5 points. I wouldn't have thought it that high of a level...it reads like an ER book...not J. There are four books so far in the series

[Ann]

A great way to introduce readers to the work of Liz Kessler. Dog lovers will enjoy this book, cat lovers too!

[Carmel]

A cute story of the unlikely friendship between two pets: Poppy (the dog) and Ginger (the cat) !

[Edward Sullivan]

Early chapter book, second in a series.