The Grumpy Pirate

by Corinne Demas, Artemis Roehrig, Ashlyn Anstee (Illustrator)

Gus the Pirate is always grumpy, but can the wise Pirate Queen convince him to change his ways?
There is one grumpy pirate.
They call him Grumpy Gus.
He grunts and gripes and grouses,
and always makes a fuss.

Gus the Pirate complains about everything -- ARRRRRGH! Gus grumbles about his lumpy bed and his itchy clothes. He complains about the yucky food and doing his chores on the pirate ship. Even sailing toward buried treasure can't make Gus happy! Finally, the other pirates have had enough! They ask the Pirate Queen to help.

So the Pirate Queen gives Grumpy Gus a pet parrot -- but the parrot is grumpy, too! After Gus spends the day with a parrot who's just as grumbly and grouchy as he is, Gus realizes his bad attitude might be a little hard to deal with. Can Gus turn his frown upside down before the other pirates make him walk the plank?

All kids can relate to feeling grumpy like Gus, and this swashbuckling pirate adventure teaches kids the importance of trying to have a positive attitude!

Genres: Picture Books, Pirates, Childrens, Storytime, Emotion

40 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2020

About the author

Corinne Demas is the award-winning author of thirty-nine books, including six novels (Daughters, The Road Towards Home, The Writing Circle), two short story collections, a memoir (Eleven Stories High, Growing Up in Stuyvesant Town, 1948--1968), a poetry chapbook, and numerous books for children (The Littlest Matryoshka, Saying Goodbye to Lulu, The Disappearing Island, The Perfect Tree). She is a Professor Emerita of English at Mount Holyoke College and a Fiction Editor of The Massachusetts Review. Along with her family, two donkeys, and a precocious puppy, she divides her time between Western Massachusetts and Cape Cod, two settings that have inspired her books.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming text and fantastic illustrations tell the story of Grumpy Gus the Pirate. When they finally can't take his attitude anymore, his fellow pirates ask the pirate captain for help and her solution is ingenious. A definite hit for story time!!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

One grumpy pirate can ruin the whole voyage. A very smart Pirate Queen gives Gus a parrot that mimics everything he says and does. By the end, Gus sees how much his attitude affects everyone else.
Great read aloud for families and classes.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids will LOVE this one! A pirate is grumpy about absolutely EVERYTHING and lets everyone onboard know it! He cannot seem to enjoy anything at all. Great book for emotions and how to manage your temper. Great illustrations. Highly recommended for Grades K-2.

[Sharie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Cindy Vallar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pirates smile. They shout “Aye aye.” They do their chores. Well, almost all pirates. There’s one who’s not a team player. He complains and pouts and avoids chores whenever he can. His name? Grumpy Gus, and the rest of the crew has had enough! They want action or they’ll walk the plank. The wise and sly pirate queen understands. Rather than scold, she gives Grumpy Gus a special friend, who soon teaches him that grumpy and pirate don’t go hand in hand.

Geared toward young pirates between the ages of three and five, this is a delightful book for teaching an inventive way to resolve a problem and change an attitude. The pirate queen’s answer to near mutiny is unique and fresh; it’s also one that children will readily identify with and enjoy parroting. The large illustrations are bright, colorful, and easy to see. The infectious rhyming text invites places where listeners can participate as someone reads the story. Anstee does a marvelous job of incorporating differences into the pirate crew, not just in color but also disabilities, sexes, ages, and sizes. There’s even a crab with a hook for one claw. Young pirates will also enjoy perusing the pictures to spy surprises, such as Grumpy Gus’s pirate underwear. Great fun for young and old pirates alike.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grumpy Gus is a whiny pirate who hates everything. The rest of the crew gets fed up and the pirate Queen has a stroke of genius. Gus is given a parrot who, well, parrots everything he says. When he realizes what a downer he is, he changes his ways. Cute illustrations with diverse pirates (including women!) and funny animal companions (a crab has a golden hook and the grumpy parrot is the cutest ever.) The only thing is that Gus's beard and face colors are strangely blended so it looks like he has this weird lumpy face. Also, it would be nice to acknowledge that you don't have to be happy all the time, and being grumpy is okay sometimes.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good rhyming book about being grumpy and how to turn it around. I quite liked that the mimicking parrot taught Grumpy Gus what he sounded like. It's an easy way to teach kids to treat others in the way they want to be treated.
It's missing something about it to make this a better rhyming book. I don't know what it is. I also thought we could have referred to the pirate queen as a captain. Because that's what she is. I'm fine with a female captain, of course, I just want to use the correct term.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I wanted to read a different pirate book on "Talk Like a Pirate Day." The uneven rhymes were a bit of a bummer. I tend to think of pirates as being naturally irascible and grumpy so this seemed natural however the rest of the pirates were not having it. Poor pirate was forced into happiness. Yes, being grumpy all of the time is maybe a bit much, however, shouldn't you be allowed to be yourself?

[Peggy Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the pirates on the ship are happy—except for Grumpy Gus. He scowls and snivels and complains about everything. The other pirates have had enough! Will the pirate queen be able to change Grumpy Gus into a Grinning Gus before the other pirates make him walk the plank? Colorful illustrations add to this fun pirate story.

[Charlotte Offsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun read-aloud revolves around Gus, a grumpy pirate who complains about everything until his shipmates help him find a way to turn his bad mood around. This book is sure to leave any grumpy pirates (or readers) smiling and reflecting on their own moods and the power of a positive attitude.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good for a rhyming book! I really enjoyed the illustrations, especially the parrot and the pirate queen. She was awesome! Grumpy Gus is always complaining and never helpful, but the wise pirate queen has an idea.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not exactly what you would call great literature, this story has elements that make it work well for a story time: it's short, it's about an interesting subject (pirates), it's funny, it hints at how your emotional state can affect others, and it rhymes.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A+, great book, wouldn't mind reading a zillion times. Yarrrr.

[Anneke Alnatour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny story of a grumpy pirate (with a black pirate queen) and his friends' quest to make him less grumpy. Rhyming was GREAT!

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure where this one was going... maybe Gus has undiagnosed clinical depression?? Aye he was just missing a parrot.

[HBarnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute book, great moral, good vocabulary words.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to grasp and humorous for small children on moods and grumpiness.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can we give a parrot to every grumpy person? 😂

[Red · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great way to introduce synonyms!!

[Lydia Underhill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a pirate whom the other pirates called Grumpy Gus because he’s always griping and complaining about something. It got so bad that they went to their pirate queen to complain about it. The queen came up with a clever plan, a mimicking parrot which she gave to Grumpy Gus. The results are funny. Fun illustrations.