The Pirates' Mixed-up Voyage

by Margaret Mahy, Margaret Chamberlain

Captain Wafer and the crew of the Sinful Sausage set sail for the Thousand Islands with a plot to kidnap a famous inventor, only to be thwarted by a witch, a firedrake, and the dastardly Dr. Silkweed

Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Pirates, Humor, Mystery

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1988

About the author

Margaret Mahy was a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.

Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance both received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. There have 100 children's books, 40 novels, and 20 collections of her stories published. Among her children's books, A Lion in the Meadow and The Seven Chinese Brothers and The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate are considered national classics. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Catalan and Afrikaans. In addition, some stories have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Icelandic.

For her contributions to children's literature she was made a member of the Order of New Zealand. The Margaret Mahy Medal Award was established by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation in 1991 to provide recognition of excellence in children's literature, publishing and literacy in New Zealand. In 2006 she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award (known as the Little Nobel Prize) in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature".

Margaret Mahy died on 23 July 2012.

On 29 April 2013, New Zealand’s top honour for children’s books was renamed the New Zealand Post Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret...

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My little guy and I really enjoyed this whimsical tale of tea shop pirates who set off on a grand adventure and get much more than they bargained for. Also, if you are a fan of clever alliteration, this book abounds with it, making for a lively and entertaining read-aloud experience.

Quotable Quotes:

They continued doggedly with their reading lessons, for in times of stress a good book is often all the comfort you can reasonably expect to find.

"You love me?" the captain could hardly believe his ears, and Toad was actually seen to shake his out in sheer disbelief. "But how can it be? I am a pirate, a proud, unprincipled profligate, peppered with imperfections - possibly penitent but probably past praying for, and you are a detective inspector devoted to duty and decency, deferring to dignity and degree. How can we dare to hope for happiness together?"

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best + most joyful summer read.

[Vera Viselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐

La Mahy, non mi stancherò mai di ripeterlo, è una scrittrice ECCEZIONALE. Mescola ironia, drammi, romanticismo in storie talmente avventurose che non si vuole mai arrivare alla fine.
Andrebbe ristampata per centinaia di anni a venire.

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I experienced this book was with a read aloud. I have since read it multiple times. Each time, it is a fresh, fun adventure tale of piracy and adventure in the Thousand Islands (though not the Thousand Islands on most maps, but different ones entirely, so as to avoid confusion). I love this book, as evidenced by the deplorable condition my copy is in - missing both covers, pages falling out. I think it is an excellently told, complicatedly twisted tale :)

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely, enjoyable anarchic children's book. It is very silly. But in a very good way.

[David Jesson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was talking to someone about this book recently, our conversation having triggered a childhood memory of having read this book multiple times and absolutely loved it. Overcome by a wave of nostalgia I did some rooting around on the internet and found a secondhand copy. The story is as brilliantly bonkers as I remembered it - no spoilers here, but unlike some surreal fantasies, this one has a decent plot linking all the ideas together and a pleasing resolution that hints that happy ever after might still be quite exciting. Treat your inner child and get a copy today. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to make some pirate gingerbread...

[Joel Cuthbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A consistently delightful yarn from ole Mahy. I recalled this one from my childhood and enjoyed re-watching the various puzzle pieces fall back into place as I rediscovered every silly twist. Mahy is brilliant at casting a far flung net of rediculous marvels that all seem to be chaotic and random until she pulls the thread tight and ties up every loose end. She’s overflowing with silly characters that are invented with such joy and detail. It doesn’t amount to any ultimate profundity but it’s very much a wonder to watch her work.

[avventuredicarta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consigliatissimo!
Letto in quinte elementare, è un libro che mi è rimasto nel cuore perchè è un'avventura incantevole.

Rileggendolo da adulta mantiene tutta la sua magia.

Preparatevi a un mondo di avventure con dei pirati improvvisati, illetterati e pieni di iniziativa, che incontreranno orfani, si scontreranno con l'amore a prima vista, approderanno su spiagge di tutti i colori, veleggeranno verso isole inusuali e, si spera, risolveranno un ardito mistero!

[Caleb Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this book on a road trip with my family on recommendation from a friend, and so glad I did. Mahy has an imminently zany, playful, endearing way of telling a story, that made this book an instant hit with my kids (they're young and couldn't remember the book's proper title, so they just took to calling the book by the name of the pirates' ship, "The Sinful Sausage").

[Debs Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite childhood stories that I revisited and forgot how much I adore it. The characters and adventures around the Thousand Islands is just joyous and revisiting it was like getting a warm hug from an old friend.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books as a child and I'm pleased to say it really holds up well.

[Stephanie Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! Kid friendly with extremely short chapters (1-3 pages) but not a little kid story. Very convoluted but a fun sort of mystery that puts soap operas to shame.

[Riccardo Bartoletti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Peccato, inutilmente arzigogolato.
Alla fine tutti i pezzi tornano al loro posto... ma quanti giri!

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember loving this book as a child, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it now! Margaret Mahy is one of those children's writers from whom any writer could learn a thing or two.

[Jmortiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite children’s book. The puzzle pieces get me every time :) I fell in love with Mahy did.

[Cristina Mosca · Rating 3 out of 5]

il linguaggio è frizzante, ma secondo me la trama è un po' troppo complicata, ci sono troppi personaggi, ben più di quattro e mezzo :(

[Kimberly Orr · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid, I read Agatha Christie, Stephen King, and anything else I could get my hands on. For some reason, when I was in junior high, the cover of this book grabbed my eye. Although it was far lighter than what I usually read, I fell in love with it. I only tracked down the title earlier this year, and found a public copy from the Internet Archive (thanks Boston Library!).

When I started the Scooby Doo read-a-thon, I realized it was perfect for both Scrappy Doo and Daphne! And I loved it just as much this time around.

[Jerzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it in middle school, then didn't reread it for decades until recently. Still as much of a charming madcap romp as I remember, with lines that still crack me up, like "a seedy looking business called Rent-a-Librarian." Re-reading it again now with my 5-year-old, and although much of the wordplay goes over his head, he's enjoying the story a lot.

[Sara Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonostante l'abbia letto per la prima volta in età avanzata mi è piaciuto tantissimo! E' il classico libro per bambini che riesce a far sognare anche gli adulti. L'intreccio della trama è piuttosto elaborato (nonché scorrevole e divertente) e le ambientazioni sono un misto tra la favola e il fantasy.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this ages ago and it was awesome and right up my alley - pirates! 1000 islands! weird, cool characters!

[mkhare · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Alessia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ebbene sì, sto iniziando ad aggiungere anche le bellissime storie lette da ragazzina. Questo libro è divertentissimo e lo conservo ancora gelosamente nella mia libreria.

[scarlettraces · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5) Silly. It's pretty good silly, though.

[J Beazer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm usually a fan of Margaret Mahy, but this one's just a bit too crazy for me.