Saturday 27 July 2024

Bad Bunny the Pirate

Bad Bunny the Pirate by Jonathan Bentley (Scholastic) HB RRP $18.99 ISBN 9781761299698

Reviewed by Nikki M Heath

What should you expect from your Bad Bunny pirate captain when you’re set upon by a greedy croc? If you said, ‘the pirate will run off with the treasure’, you wouldn’t be far off, but not before dispatching the croc with a cunning trick.

This is one of a series of Bad Bunny books, which are plainly angling for the Pig the Pug market. While Bad Bunny doesn’t quite have the irresistible charisma of Pig, there’s plenty here to tickle the funny bones of a young audience. The slightly forced rhythm and rhyme, and absence of extra layers of meaning, mean it is unlikely to grab adult readers as much.

The illustrations are textured and bold, and although the characters’ expressions feel flat, there’s also an image of the insides of a crocodile’s stomach that is impossible to unsee and will hugely fascinate kids in the farts-and-poo stage of humour development.

A fun time - but probably not a long time - for little kids who enjoy a little naughtiness. Best for ages 3 to 6 years.

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