Victricia Malicia Book-Loving Buccaneer
By Carrie Clickard
Illustrated by Mark Meyers
Victricia Alicia Calamity Barrett comes from a pirate family, where she has learned the correct behaviors of being a pirate. However, piracy is not her forte. Victricia doesn’t tie her knots right. She can’t climb ropes. And, all she wants to do is READ! Third grade strong boys and girls will laugh at this funny story.
One day, Victricia swabs the deck with the soap made from squid spit and lotion. After the deck is finished, the other pirates return from their plundering at sea. Unfortunately, the slippery deck causes all of the treasure to fall overboard.As punishment, the others want to kick her off the boat. Then, a sea serpent attacks the boat and, of course, Victricia saves the day by catching the serpent, hits it in the head causing the serpent to swim away forever!
The pirates claim her a hero, declaring that a punishment is not needed. Instead of staying on the ship, Victricia pleads to be left on an island, where she opens a bookstore. Now when the ship returns to that island, the pirates visit Victricia and learn how to read. They, too, become book -loving pirates!
Victricia is a character that all third grade readers will identify with. The story is told in rhyme and is fun to read. This would be a great read aloud for teachers to introduce the fact that the books Victricia uses are real books and many of the titles are shown. Teachers could easily make a project for the students to choose a book from Victricia’s reading list.
Carrie Clickard, author, has a website containing additional activities, teacher resources and pirating fun that is a must visit for any educator and student. Visit her website: http://victriciamalicia.com.