One of our Books of the Year 2016 | June 2016 Book of the Month Lil might look like an ordinary schoolgirl, but under her jumper and vest she’s a pirate! When the thoroughly rotten Stinkbeard arrives Lil flies into battle against him, because Lil is a pirate who’ll do what is right, if it takes her all night – and no matter what her teacher Miss Lubber says. Lil is able to defeat Stinkbeard, once using school dinner as ammunition, and still come first in the sack race! Is Lil really a pirate? Parents and children might disagree, but everyone will enjoy her antics. Told in jolly rhyme that makes reading the stories particularly fun and easy and with lively black and white illustrations on every page these are the perfect step up from picture books to chapter books.
Lil is a pirate, a good sort of pirate, and when there is someone to save, she'll do what is right (if it takes her all night). Yes, she'll always be bold and be brave. When evil pirate Stinkbeard tries to kidnap Lil's teacher, it's up to schoolgirl and secret pirate, Lil, to come to the rescue. In story two it's sports day, but there's a very hungry croc on the loose. Can Lil and her trusty parrot, Carrot, scare Stinkbeard and his pet croc away?
Swashbuckle Lil: The Secret Pirate, by author Elli Woollard and illustrator Laura Ellen Anderson, is the first in an exciting series with two rip-roaringly rhyming, brilliantly illustrated stories in each book which make the perfect transition from parent-led to independent reading.
Elli Woollard started writing stories after an embarrassing incident in which her youngest son broke Michael Rosen's glasses. Having previousl written poetry, Elli's snappy rhymes, catchy, rhythms and witty stories have captured the imagination of the children's book world; from picture book collaborations with wonderfully talented illustrators such as Benji Davies (The Giant of Jum and The Dragon and the Nibblesome Knight), Steven Lenton (The Great Gran Plan, 2017), to a first chapter book with the marvellous Laura Ellen Anderson (Swashbuckle Lil: The Secret Pirate). In everything she does, Elli Woollard brings a unique new voice to children's fiction, and is definitely an author to watch. She lives in London with her four children, her husband and two guinea pigs.
