Il-Pirati

Il-Pirati: It-Te\or ta’ Morgan il-Pirata Il-Pirati: Is-Serqa tad-Djamant

Ahoy, Matey! Here be the best pirate books for Maltese children! And don’t you dare say ‘Nay’ or we’ll go ‘Arrgh!’

Merlin Publishers have gone buccaneer with their latest series of children’s books Il-Pirati and the adventures of Tommy and Marija.

Tommy and Marija are not your average siblings. Well they are, in the sense that like every other brother and sister they are always squabbling and competing with each other, but they are different because they happen to be the grandchildren of a very famous pirate. Their Nannu Ġanni and his loyal pirate parrot Mr Moody, had many a swashbuckling adventure in their time. Now their grandfather is retired, but pirate blood still runs in the family and the brother and sister, together with their neigh- bour boy Willy, are always in search of adventure.

So who are they these three children and why are they always ready to jump aboard their pirate ship to chart the seas for treasure to be found ahead?

Marija, 8, is a little feminist, who never lets go of her sword and who wants to show the world that lassies can be as good pirates as the lads. Her redhaired brother Tommy, 10, who is rather impulsive, likes to believe that he is the captain of the group but the real brain of the team is Willy, a clever bookworm whose fountain of knowledge often gets them out of many scrapes.

In the first book in the series, IlPirati: It-Teżor ta’ Morgan il-Pirata, the children find a map in a glass bottle. The map holds the secret location of a long lost treasure of baddie Pirate Morgan. “He always used to carry his treasure box with him,” said grandpa Ġanni. The children and Mr Moody the parrot go to Crab Island in search of the treasure, but just as they manage to unearth the box, Marcus, their rival pirate kid snatches it away, right from under their noses! Arrgh! How will they get it back? And what’s so precious about this treasure?

In Il-Pirati: Is-Serqa tad-Djamant the three children happen to overhear a conversation between two veteran (and rather scary) pirates. They learn that the largest diamond in the world was hidden in an abandoned mine right at the edge of their very own village. Needless to say, the three children set off in search of the diamond. Will they succeed? And most importantly will they manage to return the diamond to its rightful owner?

Me hearties! To find out, you need to put on your pirate eyepatch and read the books. Written by French authors Juliette Parachini-Deny and Oliver Dupin and adapted to Maltese by Merlin award-winning author Mark Vella, Il-Pirati will fire up any young wannabe pirate’s imagination.

The books are whimsically illustrated by Jérôme Pélissier and are in full colour throughout – perfectly levelled for children between 7 and 9 years of age. They are ideal for children who need to acquire confidence in reading: short chapters, engaging story and memorable characters – with a great sprinkling of baddies and heroes.

Il-Pirati: It-Teżor ta’ Morgan ilPirata and Il-Pirati: Is-Serqa tadDjamant are available for sale from all leading bookshops or directly online from merlinpublishers.com