Shelle Rosenfeld (Booklist, Sep. 15, 2003 (Vol. 100, No. 2))
Pirates have green teeth--when they have any teeth at all." So begins young Jeremy Jacob's witty recounting of his unexpected high-seas adventure. While building a sand castle at the beach, Jeremy spies a pirate ship. When he's asked to join its crew, he can't resist. On board, he does all sorts of fun pirate stuff: singing sea chanteys, learning pirate lingo, eating with one's hands. And he doesn't have to eat vegetables or take a bath! But, alas, Jeremy soon discovers, there's no goodnight kiss or bedtime story, so there's something to be said for home; besides, he has soccer practice. The rollicking tale is a charmer, with a lively, witty, first-person narrative, highly expressive characters, and farcical elements, including pirate captain Braid Beard's braided beard and his crew's enthusiastic vocal repetitions, in big, bold type, which add read-aloud pep. Shannon's acrylic art is marvelously animated, with bright, bold colors and extraordinary details, from the not-too-scary pirates' green teeth to the deep-blue sloshing sea. Along with swashbuckling humor and fantasy, kids will find much to relate to and appreciate--from excitement and family comforts to the joy of playing soccer. Category: Books for the Young--Fiction. 2003, Harcourt, $16. PreS-Gr. 3.

Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)
Wannabe buccaneers of all ages will relish How I Became a Pirate. Melinda Young spins a rollicking yarn of Jeremy Jacob's adventures with Braid Beard and his green-toothed pirates. Rich in "pirate-speak," the book begs to be read aloud for the sheer joy of trumpeting phrases such as "Shiver me timbers!" and "Down the hatch, me laddies!" Treasure is buried, a fearsome storm braved and Jeremy delivered back to his parents' beach blanket in time for soccer practice. With humor and verve, Caldecott-winning illustrator David Shannon serves up a swashbuckling crew complete with eye patches, peg legs and enough bad teeth to fascinate all those kids who hate brushing. 2003, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 3 up.

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
One day on the beach, Jeremy Jacob tells us, some pirates take him away with them to bury a treasure chest. He has a jolly time on board, learning pirate talk and pirate manners. He has less success teaching them soccer. Not only does he not have to eat vegetables, he doesn't even have to take a bath or brush his teeth. "I wanted to be a pirate forever." But he finds there is no tucking in at night, and no books for bedtime stories. Then a bad storm upsets them all. Luckily, Jeremy Jacob can show them the perfect place to bury his treasure. He doesn't even need a map, because it is handily right in his yard. He then waves them goodbye, because today he has soccer practice. Shannon avoids ordinary stereotypes while presenting traditional icons like the eye patch, the peg leg, the captain with a parrot on his shoulder, the slovenly motley crew. He adds a comic stamp with lots of slapstick; the ship's cat wears an earring, Braid Beard's beard is in a braid. Acrylic paints delineate naturalistic figures alive with action and expressions, creating havoc in close quarters. Jeremy thoroughly enjoys his pirate adventure but is smart enough to know when it is time to go home. 2003, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Candace Deisley (Children's Literature)
Jeremy Jacob, who looks remarkably like David Shannon's Caldecott Honor Book David, was innocently building a sand castle at the beach one day when a pirate ship came into view. He tried to alert his parents, but they were busy, as shown in one of the funniest illustrations in the book: Mom was squeezing sun screen lotion from a tube onto Jeremy's little sister, while Dad, in his socks and thong sandals, was struggling with the beach umbrella that seems to be swallowing him. The pirates rowed to shore, discovered that Jeremy was a good digger, and invited him to come with them to bury their treasure. Jeremy didn't think Mom and Dad would mind as long as he got back in time for soccer practice the next day. And what a good time the lad has: nobody tells him to close his mouth when there's food inside. Nobody tells him to eat his vegetables (there aren't any). Nobody makes him brush his teeth. But nobody will read to him, either, or tuck him in, or kiss him goodnight. And then the storm comes. When it's all over, Jeremy tells the pirates they should bury their treasure in his backyard, which they do, and set sail. But before they leave, they give Jeremy a flag to hoist if he ever needs them, and he thinks he might sometime, but not today. Today, he has soccer practice. Wonderful acrylic paintings show details not in the text, as Shannon works his magic yet again! 2003, Harcourt, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 18))
Thanks to parrot-toting Braidbeard and his gloriously disreputable crew, a lad discovers the ups and downs of a pirate's life in this rousing mini-epic. His mom and dad busy on another part of the beach, young Jeremy happily joins a band of hook-handed, eye-patched, snaggle-toothed pirates aboard their ship, learning pirate table manners (none), enjoying a game of nautical soccer until a shark eats the ball, then happily retiring without having to brush teeth, or even don pajamas. But then Jeremy learns that pirates don't get tucked in, or get bedtime stories, and as for good night kisses-Avast! Worse yet, no one offers comfort when a storm hits. So, giving over the pirate's life, Jeremy shows the crew where to bury its treasure (his backyard), and bids them goodbye. Shannon outfits Braidbeard's leering, pop-eyed lot in ragged but colorful pirate dress, and gives his young ruffian-in-training a belt and bandanna to match. This isn't likely to turn pirate wannabees into landlubbers, but it will inspire a chorus of yo-ho-hos. 2003, Harcourt, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 6 to 8. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Vicki Arkoff (Midwest Book Review, "Vicki's Bookshelf" column, September 2003)
Shiver me timbers! Little landlubbers around the world have been waiting for a picture book like "How I Became A Pirate." In this terrific new picture book by Melinda Long ("Hiccup Snickup" and "When Papa Snores") and illustrated by the irrepressible David Shannon ("No, David!" and "The Ballad of the Pirate Queens"), young Jeremy Jacob is innocently minding his own business building sand castles at the beach, when a ship of jolly pirates admire his digging skills, so enlist him to join the crew to bury a treasure chest. Soon Jeremy has learned how to sing sea chanteys and "talk pirate," and decides to teach them a little something too: how to play soccer until a shark eats the ball. Except for swabbing the decks, our little hero decides it's the pirate life for him because "no one tells pirates to go to bed, to take a bath, or to brush their teeth. (Maybe that's why their teeth are green.)." There's no spinach or carrots either, so its no wonder he wants to be a pirate forever. Until, that is, he discovers that at bedtime there' s no tucking in, kissing or story. Curses! How can Jeremy escape his pirate clan and get home again? The satisfying conclusion winds up a thoroughly fun adventure, cleverly told from a kids-point of view. And when it comes to all the bells and whistles of pirate legend, Long and Shannon don't miss a thing here: all the catch phrases are strewn about with wild abandon, as are parrots, Jolly Rogers, eye-patches, hooks for hands, and all the other fantasy elements of a swashbuckling good time. 2003, Harcourt Inc., $16.00.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January 2004 (Vol. 57, No. 5))
Jeremy Jacob’s day at the beach takes a precipitate turn when a pirate ship heaves to and rotund Braid Beard rows ashore and recognizes that the boy’s sandcastle skills mark him as a masterful digger. There’s a chest full of treasure to be buried and a digger is just what they need; Jeremy Jacob has no objections, as long as he’s back in time for soccer practice tomorrow. At first the freebooter life is a nonstop picnic: no table manners, no bedtime, no spinach and carrots, no tooth brushing. Alas, there’s also nobody to tuck a boy in for the night ("Tuck you in? . . . Pirates don’t tuck"), or read him a story, or comfort him in a raging storm. Jeremy Jacob is pleased to suggest a place to stash their loot (under the tree in his backyard) and he’s off the hook and home in time for soccer practice with his team--the Pirates, who else? The plot may amount to little more than a semiprecious gem, but Shannon’s illustrations are pure gold: dense, detailed caricatures that affectionately satirize buccaneer fantasy. The crew is tricked out in predictably frayed finery, but careful examination discloses such buried pleasures as a pince-nez delicately perched on one massive schnoz, a matching pair of eye patches worn purely for affect (that pirate lifts one or both whenever he needs to take a peek), a hula girl tattoo with "Mom" inscribed at her feet, a natty set of nautical-print jammies, and a cat boasting as few teeth as his scurvy shipmates. Among such company, what listener wouldn’t crave being pirate for a day? Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2003, Harcourt, 36p, $16.00. Ages 4-7 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2004)
While building a sandcastle on the beach, Jeremy encounters a band of pirates who recruit him to help bury their treasure. At first, he loves the rowdy pirate lifestyle--the singing, cursing, bad table manners, and pillow fights--until he misses the comforts of home. Shannon's cartoon acrylic illustrations, which are bursting with energy and salty characters, bring Long's spirited narrative to life. Category: Picture Books. 2003, Harcourt, 44pp, $16.00. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Lisa Larremore (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 1))
Jeremy Jacob has a romp as a pirate until bedtime when he discovers no one reads to pirates, or comforts pirates, or kisses them goodnight. This book is true imagination in progress. It is fun to read and students will love it. This is one they will ask to be read over and over. Second and third graders should be able to read the text by themselves. The illustrations are wonderful, and the "pirate language" is a great addition. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades 1-3. 2003, Harcourt, Unpaged., $16.00. Ages 6 to 9.