The Pirate of Kindergarten

BOOK REVIEW: The Pirate of Kindergarten

CITATION:

Lyon, George Ella and Avril, Lynne. The Pirate of Kindergarten. New York, Simon & Schuster, 2010.

ISBN: 9781416950240

SUMMARY:

Ginny loves reading, but is constantly seeing double words, running into things, and messing up her projects because she can’t see. She even gets picked on by her classmates. However, she doesn’t learn she has double vision until a routine vision screening at school. Thankfully, she gets a patch to help her eyes to become better, and she becomes the “pirate of kindergarten.” By the end of the book, her confidence soars as she reads, plays, and creates crafts correctly because her vision is fixed.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The Pirate of Kindergarten is written in a tone and format that any young school-aged child can understand, but the topic is something that anyone (including adults) can relate to. No one wants to be held back or treated unfairly because of a disability. Vision impairment is a common problem for children, but diagnosing it can be tricky. In this book by George Ella Lyon, Ginny is a believable character who soars after her problem is fixed. This realistic picture book with a few sentences per page and vibrant and supporting illustrations shows how a young child can feel frustrated with a vision impairment.

The cultural markers in this book focus on accurately showing how a child in kindergarten might interact with their surroundings, classmates and teachers. Ginny’s vision impairment is shown though Lynne Avril’s pencil, color and paint illustrations. There are chairs on top of each other in a layering effect on one page. Also, she shows how pages in books look to Ginny, with overlapping words and letters. The reader can get a sense of how difficult it must be for someone with double vision to read correctly. Lastly, we get a sense of how easily misunderstood a child with a vision problem can be. Ms. Cleo, her teacher, seems nice. However, she clearly does not understand how Ginny feels. She is constantly telling her to get her nose out of the book and to stop squinting. Thankfully, the kind nurse explains to Ginny that her vision needs help, and the doctor explains to Ginny and her mother how they will correct the problem with a patch and glasses.

With a happy ending, readers will cheer knowing that Ginny was able to get help with her vision and that disability does not have to interfere with her success at school anymore. Hopefully children who read this book will feel comfortable telling someone if they have a vision problem, and/or try to understand how an impairment does not have to hinder them from reaching their potential. Also, hopefully this book will show children how important it is that everyone treats others kindly, because we never quite know what others are going through. Even though Ginny had to wear a patch, she was so happy to finally feel confident moving around and reading.

BOOK REVIEWS/AWARDS:

Schneider Family Book Award for Young Children’s Book (2011)

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2—Ginny suffers from undiagnosed double vision, and seeing two of everything is causing her difficulties in school. On vision screening day, a nurse discovers the problem, and the prescribed eye patch gives Ginny a new identity—the pirate of kindergarten. Lyon's short, descriptive sentences set up the situation deftly, and Avril's astute chalk, pencil, and acrylic drawings of "two of everything" provide a vivid window into Ginny's pre-treatment world. It is not until the end of the story that Ginny declares herself a pirate, but as a metaphor for confidence and competence, her patch effectively declares her to be captain of her own ship. Julia Chen Headley's The Patch (Charlesbridge, 2006) is another story about a pirate with vision issues.—Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC
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Booklist:

Ginny enjoys kindergarten, but she does have some difficulties, and occasionally children laugh when she runs into chairs or reads lines of text twice. Her teacher notices that the child closes one eye to read, but on Vision Screening Day, the school nurse discovers that Ginny has double vision. When the doctor gives her a temporary eye patch, Ginny wears it with style and becomes a “Kindergarten Pirate,” suddenly better at numbers, scissors, and reading and no longer tense from concentrating to avoid mistakes. Created with pastels, acrylics, and colored pencils, Avril’s bold and wonderfully vivid mixed-media illustrations sometimes portray the classroom through Ginny’s eyes, with overlapping images of chairs, books, and people, though they usually present an outside perspective. Based on Lyon’s own experience, the sensitively written story radiates empathy and good humor. Even children who have not experienced Ginny’s problem will understand her occasional frustration and find it intriguing that one person can literally see the world differently from another. Preschool-Grade 2. --Carolyn Phelan

CONNECTIONS:

The Pirate of Kindergarten tells a story of Ginny, who has vision impairment. Students would benefit from reading other stories of children with disabilities, such as A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz and Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jennifer Fisher Bryant.