CAPTAIN ABDUL’S LITTLE TREASURE

Avast! Captain Abdul’s ship, the Golden Behind, gains a diaper-clad new crewmember when Doris and the other pirate wives set out for a bit of pillaging on their own. The Captain is outraged—“What’s the woman thinkin’ of, dumpin’ a ninfant wi’ a bunch of fearsome pirates? It’s hirrisponsibul, HIRRISPONSIBUL!”—but then comes around. Little Treasure (as he’s dubbed) soon has Abdul and the rest of the scruffy crew wrapped around his chubby little finger, as they teach him pirate skills and sing him to sleep each night. McNaughton illustrates in his usual broad, busy cartoon style, outfitting everyone in appropriately piratical gear and giving Little Treasure a wooly orange shock of hair identical to the captain’s. In the end, so pleased are the wives with how well Little Treasure’s done that they drop off a full dozen tykes, transforming the Golden Behind, its figurehead newly clad in a Jolly Roger diaper, into a permanent nursery. A cautionary tale if ever there was one. (CD) (Picture book. 7-9)