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Teachers’ Guide

Pirate Stew

by Neil Gaiman

**These notes may be reproduced free of charge for use and study within schools, but they may not

be reproduced (either in whole or in part) and offered for commercial sale**

SYNOPSIS (PLOT)

From the multi-award-winning Neil Gaiman comes the biggest picture book of the year: a joyfully riotous, brilliantly anarchic, deliciously rhyming adventure, with glorious piratical illustrations by Chris Riddell. Meet LONG JOHN McRON, SHIP'S COOK . . . and the most unusual babysitter you've ever seen. Long John has a whole crew of wild pirates in tow, and – for one boy and his sister – he's about to transform a perfectly ordinary evening into a riotous adventure beneath a pirate moon. It's time to make some PIRATE STEW.

Pirate Stew! Pirate Stew! Pirate Stew for me and you! Pirate Stew, Pirate Stew Eat it and you won’t be blue You can be a pirate too! Marvellously silly and gloriously entertaining, this tale of pirates, flying ships, doughnut feasts and some rather magical stew is perfect for all pirates, both young and old. With a deliciously rhyming text from master storyteller Neil Gaiman, and spellbinding illustrations by the supremely talented Chris Riddell, three-times-winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal, this is the picture book of the year! Joyful, quirky and action-packed, it makes a spectacular and magical gift.

AUTHOR BACKGROUND

Neil Gaiman has written highly acclaimed books for both children and adults and is the first author to have won both the Carnegie and Newbery Medals for the same work – The Graveyard Book. Many of his books, including Coraline and Stardust, have been made into

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films; Neverwhere has been adapted for TV and radio; and American Gods and Good Omens have been adapted into major TV series. He has also written two episodes of Doctor Who and appeared in The Simpsons as himself.

ILLUSTRATOR BACKGROUND

Chris Riddell is a much-loved illustrator and acclaimed political cartoonist. He has won the Costa Children’s Book Award, the Nestlé Gold Award, and is the only artist to have won the Kate Greenaway Medal three times, most recently for his illustrations in The Sleeper and the Spindle. He was Waterstones Children’s Laureate from 2015 to 2017 and has illustrated the work of many celebrated children’s authors, including five Neil Gaiman titles and J.K. Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard. He is the author of the bestselling Goth Girl and Ottoline series and co-creator of The Edge Chronicles.

PRE-READING ACTIVITY

Based on the cover and the title, what do you think this book will be about? Discuss the title, “Pirate Stew”. Does it provide any clues about what might happen in the story?

Brainstorm some pirate vocabulary with the class. What are some words students associate with pirates? Some suggestions could be: parrot, treasure chest, maps, hook, wooden leg, ship, the Jolly Roger flag, eyepatch, cannons, sails, pirate crew, and so on. Do the students know any famous pirates, real or fictional?

CLASSROOM DISCUSSION AND ACTIVITIES Who was your favourite character in the story and why? The pirate ship’s cook in this story is Long John McRon. If you were a pirate ship’s cook, what name would you call yourself? What would happen if a character ate the pirate stew in the story? Would you eat it? If your family members or friends were pirates, what would their pirate names be? If you could fly a magic pirate ship anywhere you wanted, where would you go? It could be a real place or a magical place! Many weird and wonderful ingredients went into the pirate stew! Create your own pirate stew recipe – list the ingredients (the sillier the better!), and draw an illustration of it. Go on a treasure hunt! The teacher can create a treasure map and hide an item for the children to find in the classroom or playground. Encourage the students to work as a team to use the map and find it. After this activity, students can draw their own treasure maps.

Have a pirate party - dress up and eat some pirate snacks! Food suggestions include: green, yellow or red jello, chocolate coins, crackers for the parrots, yogurt pretzels for bones, fresh fruit as pirate jewels.

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ENGLISH & CREATIVE WRITING This story is written in rhyme. Discuss what rhyme is. Are there any words you can think of that rhyme together? Do you know any other stories that rhyme? Create a character profile about one of the members of the pirate crew from Pirate Stew: make up their name, age, where they come from, and an interesting fact about them. Make up your own pirate story. Who are the characters, where is the story set, and what happens in the story? Write or tell this story to the class.

HISTORY Research real life pirates from history. Choose one pirate to research and give a talk to your classmates about your chosen pirate. The pirates in Pirate Stew eat many weird and wonderful things! What did real life pirates normally eat?

ART The pirates in this story loved eating donuts. Create your own donut flavour and draw a picture of what it would look like. Draw your own pirate character and write a description of them. Are they a man, woman, girl or boy? Are they tall or short? Does your pirate have a hat? An eyepatch? A wooden leg? A pet parrot? What does your pirate like to eat? The Jolly Roger flag has a skull and crossbones on it. If you were a pirate, what would your flag look like? Draw a picture. The house in this story turns into a pirate ship that sails the skies. Draw a picture of your own pirate ship. What would it look like? Label the different parts of the ship and give it a name.

FURTHER READING Fortunately, the Milk Neil Gaiman We’re Going On A Treasure Hunt Martha Mumford Munch, Crunch, Pirate Lunch! John Kelly Princess Swashbuckle Hughes, Hollie

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Monster Max’s Shark Spaghetti Claire Freedman