Thomas Docherty – Mom Read It

Pirate Nell’s Tale to Tell: A Storybook Adventure, by Helen Docherty & Thomas Docherty, (Sept. 2020, Sourcebooks), $17.99, ISBN: 978-1492698678

Ages 4-7

This rhyming tale of literacy on the high seas stars an all-canine cast. Nell, a younger pup, is so excited to join a pirate crew, but Captain Gnash scoffs at her bookishness and saves the ickiest tasks for her to do. A treasure map in a bottle shows up one night, but Captain Gnash manages to get himself and his crew into big trouble until Nell, and her Pirate’s Almanac, save the day! They finally make it to the island and discover the best treasure of all. Smart and light, this upbeat tale of books and how handy a little extra knowledge can be is great for library visits. Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty always manage to create the best stories about book lovers: they also wrote The Snatchabook and The Storybook Knight; both wonderfully woven rhyming tales of books and how they make things better. The colorful acrylic artwork will attract all readers; who doesn’t love a rollicking pirate story with sea monsters and treasure? Endpapers show off a cross-section of a pirate ship before and after the plunder. See if kids can spot the differences! Pair with Ronan the Librarian for the ultimate class visit storytime. Visit Helen Docherty’s website for downloadable goodies including masks and coloring sheets!

Daniela and the Pirate Girls, by Susana Isern/Illustrated by Gómez, Translated by Laura Victoria Fielden, (Aug. 2020, NubeOcho), $16.95, ISBN: 978-84-17673-27-7

Ages 5-8

The second book to star Daniela the Pirate, Daniela and her crew spend a good part of this new adventure aboard their pirate ship, the Black Croc, tracking down a group of pirates called The Fearless Piranhas. They keep showing up to rescue sea folk just before the Black Croc arrives, and the crew is starting to get worried: what if they beat the Croc to the best treasure, too? Just as the Black Croc happens upon the Fearless Piranhas ship, they both get caught up in a dangerous storm: luckily, Daniela knows a friend who can help everyone out! The two crews finally meet and decide that teamwork is the best way to work! Upbeat and positive, this pirate story is all about sharing and teamwork, with the acknowledgement that sometimes, jealousy and competition can get in the way of how we perceive others. Gómez always uses bright, cheerful colors in her artwork; here, vibrant landscapes and pirates stand out against the light blue sea and sky, really giving the characters center stage. Originally published in Spanish, this English translation will appeal to pirate fans while teaching a lesson in kindness.

The Storybook Knight, by Helen Docherty/Illustrated by Thomas Docherty (Oct. 2016, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-4926-3814-8

Recommended for ages 4-8

Bookish Leo would love to sit and read all day, but his parents insist that he must fight – he’s a knight, after all. Saddling up his horse, Ned, with books and sandwiches, Leo heads out into the world to find a dragon in need of taming, and encounters a host of other storybook beasts, all of whom learn that sometimes, a good story is the best diversion of all!

The Storybook Knight is written and illustrated by the same duo that gave us The Snatchabook, now an award-winnign storytime standard. Kids will love the rhyming text and fantastic story of a gentle knight who finds a less violent way to bring peace to a nearby village. There’s a sense of excitement as Leo embarks on his quest, where he proves, time and again, that a good book can remedy most ills. It’s a gentle story that makes for a great bedtime, storytime, or anytime story.

Thomas Docherty’s acrylic inks and watercolors, on hot pressed watercolor paper, provide a real fairy tale look and feel to the artwork, with pastoral scenes and fantastic creatures. I love his griffin (even if he is a bit vain), and the dragon is big, orange-red giant with a heck of a temper. When Leo finally arrives at his destination, he discovers a huge mess, with dragon poop-lined streets that will get the kids giggling even as they cringe at the stinky destruction wrought by the fiery brute. Mr. Docherty has a gift for wonderful facial expressions – we see the grouchy dragon soften immediately, once Leo threatens to toss a book with lots of dragons into the trash unless he cleans up his act. The griffin and troll each start out fierce, but turn into smiling, even preening, gentlemen once presented with a book starring someone like them.

And that’s the final gift that Storybook Knight gives us: it shows readers how wonderful it is to find yourself represented in a book. In its own way, The Storybook Knight is a fantasy championing of the need for diversity in children’s lit. Read this book with your fantasy books – maybe Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great or If I Had a Gryphon – and display books for your community nearby, so kids can find pictures of families that look just like theirs.

Great addition to storytime collections!

Helen Docherty’s author website includes free, downloadable resources that work with many of her books. You can also learn more about school visits and author talks, and find more information about her books.

Tag: Thomas Docherty

Storybook Knight: Great messages on many levels!