The Crew Goes Coconuts!
A Captain No Beard Story; Volume 6
Captain No Beard and his colorful crew do battle with bullying in this fun, entertaining story.
The sixth volume in the Captain No Beard series, The Crew Goes Coconuts! is a picture book that offers a new take on how to handle bullying. With colorfully painted illustrations and fun-to-read text, this story will help bullies view themselves and their targets in a new light.
Captain No Beard’s crew is very thirsty, but they are all out of juice boxes because Matie the goat drank more than her share. Upset, the crew makes fun of Matie’s name and the way she says it, and they say she smells. Captain No Beard intervenes by asking the crew, one by one, to name something they like and something they do not like about themselves. He points out that no one is perfect, and that instead of being hard on one another, they should each look for the good and positive things about their friends.
Carole P. Roman is a grandparent and former teacher who has won awards for her children’s books. She writes in a happy, amusing style, making this a fun read-aloud story for parents who like to read in character voices, demonstrated in something as simple as Matie saying her own name: “‘I like M A A A A A T I E,’ the goat said.” Children will enjoy the characters, including Linus the lion, Fribbet the frog, and Mongo the monkey, just to name a few. Roman also writes in pirate-speak, keeping the mood light: “‘Avast!’ Captain No Beard bellowed from the deck above them. ‘Shiver me timbers, crew.’” The watercolor illustrations are bright, boisterous, and have a cartoonish feeling. The characters’ expressive eyes convey their emotions, whether they are scared, sad, angry, or upset. There are a few proofreading mistakes, such as misplaced punctuation, and a few choppy paragraph formatting problems.
A fun story for children and adults alike, The Crew Goes Coconuts! takes a positive way to turn bullying around, while entertaining, too. Pirates, animals, and coconuts make an amusing story from which to learn.
Reviewed by
Beth VanHouten
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
