My Grandpa is a Pirate

My Grandpa Is a Pirate
Jan Lööf ~ translated from the Danish by Else Holmelund Minarik
Harper & Row, 1968
originally published as Min Morfar er Sørøver ~ Denmark, 1966

How I've gotten this far and this deep into doing this and never noticed Jan Lööf's stuff before is beyond me. A Swedish author, comic book artist and jazz musician, I've seen his work before (most notably, Who's Got the Apple), but it didn't really click until this time around. Love at first read, for sure. My son is a wiggler when I read, and I always know that when he goes dead still and quiet on the first read of a book that means it's an instant favorite. I knew the moment I saw the cover that I was in love.
Here is a picture of Grandma and Grandpa and me. Grandma and Grandpa have a house and a garden, and I live with them in the summertime. Grandpa has a model of an old pirate ship.

"I was the captain of that ship," he says. And then he tells long stories about how he dueled with his worst enemy, the Arabian priate chief, Omar.

"He's making it all up!" says Grandma. "He has worked in the post office all his life."

But I don't think Grandpa's making it all up, because he keeps some pirate clothes
up in the attic.

Indeed he does, and when he shows up one day dressed to the nines in pirate gear, it's off to the docks they go to stir up some adventure. Pirates, distant lands, magic carpets and treasure abounds in this unforgettable tale of imagination and intrigue. The line drawings here are my favorite sort, and illustrate simply and elegantly how effortless a true genius can make it seem. Twenty thumbs up and a yo ho ho for good measure!

Also by:
Uncle Louie's Fantastic Sea Voyage
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