Here are 83 books that Rufus Goes to Sea fans have personally recommended if you like
Rufus Goes to Sea.
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I’m the author of funny-bone tickling and heartwarming picture books, Halloween Hustle and Prince and Pirate. My newest book, Dream Submarine, is a lyrical bedtime story that blends fiction and nonfiction and invites young readers on a journey through the world's oceans (Candlewick, 2024). Language Arts teacher turned writer, I'm passionate about literacy and love visiting schools and libraries to connect with my favorite people—kids! My books and all the perfectly piratey tales on this list are best when read aloud!
I adore this piratey parody of "The Boy Who
Cried Wolf."As a parent and former teacher, I’ve had the privilege of
reading to kids for decades. This picture book is ideal for a giggly good
storytime. I especially appreciate how the refrain “The pirates are coming!
Quick! Everybody hide!” builds suspense (and silliness!) and creates lots of
opportunities for kids to make predictions about what sort of ship is actually
out on the horizon. Clever and comedic illustrations amp up the fun.
A hilarious retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with not one but TWO twists!
Tom has a VERY important job; every day he climbs to the top of the hill and watches for pirate ships. But when he rings his bell and shouts "PIRATES!" a few too many times - and there's NO pirate ship - the villagers begin to get tired of hiding. So what will happen when the pirates really do show up?
Repeated phrases make it easy and fun for young adventurers to join in with the storytelling, and witty, bold artwork by Matt Hunt adds…
I’m the author of funny-bone tickling and heartwarming picture books, Halloween Hustle and Prince and Pirate. My newest book, Dream Submarine, is a lyrical bedtime story that blends fiction and nonfiction and invites young readers on a journey through the world's oceans (Candlewick, 2024). Language Arts teacher turned writer, I'm passionate about literacy and love visiting schools and libraries to connect with my favorite people—kids! My books and all the perfectly piratey tales on this list are best when read aloud!
A hearty and slightly hapless pirate named Jack makes getting dressed an adventure! I believe the best picture books engage young readers, and I love the way Jack invites kids into the story, encouraging them to identify colors from gray long johns and pink socks to gold earrings and—surprise!—a green parrot. Written in rhyme with the perfect amount of piratey lingo, this book is best when read aloud. Illustrations provide a treasure trove of funny details for kids to discover.
Ahoy, matey! Join jaunty pirate Captain Jack as he uses every color of the rainbow to pick out his outfit in this bright and bold read-aloud.
It’s the crack o’ dawn, and dapper Pirate Jack is ready t’ get dressed for a day out on the high seas with his motley crew. He’ll need every color of the rainbow to make his outfit complete—from his itchy gray long johns and his toasty pink socks to his bright red sash and his cozy purple coat. And he won’t be forgettin’ his black eye patch and trusty brown peg leg, either!
I’m the author of funny-bone tickling and heartwarming picture books, Halloween Hustle and Prince and Pirate. My newest book, Dream Submarine, is a lyrical bedtime story that blends fiction and nonfiction and invites young readers on a journey through the world's oceans (Candlewick, 2024). Language Arts teacher turned writer, I'm passionate about literacy and love visiting schools and libraries to connect with my favorite people—kids! My books and all the perfectly piratey tales on this list are best when read aloud!
When a little boy boards the school bus for the very first time, he’s terrified—until the bus driver whispers, “This isn’t a school bus, it’s a pirate ship!” I think it’s terrific when stories sweep readers in and invite them to use their imagination. Equally terrific is the way the characters join together to turn first-day jitters into a journey on the high seas. Illustrations, cleverly inspired by children’s artwork (which I love!), are the perfect partner for this kid-centric story
In this follow-up to It's Not a Bed, It's a Time Machine, a young boy is worried about the bus ride to his first day of school. Who will he sit with on the bus? How will he make friends?
The bus driver knows the first day of school is intimidating, and she has a secret to share: This is not a school bus - it's a pirate ship! And its pirate crew has one motto: "All for fun and fun for all!"
The boy sets sail with his classmates on an epic adventure - making new friends and vanquishing…
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan. The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced, it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run the…
I’m the author of funny-bone tickling and heartwarming picture books, Halloween Hustle and Prince and Pirate. My newest book, Dream Submarine, is a lyrical bedtime story that blends fiction and nonfiction and invites young readers on a journey through the world's oceans (Candlewick, 2024). Language Arts teacher turned writer, I'm passionate about literacy and love visiting schools and libraries to connect with my favorite people—kids! My books and all the perfectly piratey tales on this list are best when read aloud!
I recommend this raucous tale because it combines two kid favorites (and, let’s be honest, two of my favorites): pirates and Halloween! I thoroughly enjoyed the stomping, clomping, romping rhyme and the refrain young readers will eagerly repeat—“We be pirates. Trick arrr treat!” The fact that the book features an inclusive cast of characters is an added bonus. All these things combine to make this book a marvelous choice for a fun, engaging pirate or Halloween-themed storytime.
Charlotte Blue-Tongue, Peg-Leg Pete, Glass-Eyed Gabby, and their friends swashbuckle through the streets demanding loot and treasure from their neighbors in this Halloween pirate tale. As their world transforms from neighborhood to pirate's lagoon, they shout, "We be pirates. TRICK ARRR TREAT!" But what's lurking in the shadows? Are the pirates brave enough to defend their treasure?
Reading with your kid can be a delight, but it’s tough to find a book that both grown-up and child think is hysterical. I mean, I tried reading Catch-22 to my three-year-old, but for some reason the incisive social commentary just didn’t resonate with her. My kids and I both let out genuine chuckles and guffaws while reading all of these books—an experience that I treasured. These books are all giggly, snickery proof that you don’t have to dumb things down to appeal to a wide age range—a goal that I aim for myself in the children’s books and TV shows that I write.
I have vivid memories of my voice getting louder and more hysterical, and my kids literally jumping up and down on their futon bed, laughing and clapping with delight, as I would read through the exciting ending of each of these charming, hilarious adventures about an adorable buttered-toast-loving pig and the group of humorous, sharply-drawn characters around her.
No gimmicks, no space aliens or magic amulets or evil supervillains, just great, well-paced, laugh-out-loud stories in which everyone always gets their perfect comeuppance. In terms of series with great, funny short stories, we also love Ivy and Bean and the Frog and Toad series.
The first adventure of this NEW YORK TIMES best-selling porcine wonder is now available as an e-book. (Ages 6 - 8)
To Mr. and Mrs. Watson, Mercy is not just a pig – she's a porcine wonder. And to the portly and good-natured Mercy, the Watsons are an excellent source of buttered toast, not to mention that buttery-toasty feeling she gets when she snuggles into bed with them. This is not, however, so good for the Watsons' bed. BOOM! CRACK! As the bed and its occupants slowly sink through the floor, Mercy escapes in a flash – "to alert the…
I love the experience of reading a book that combines a known (to me or not!) story combined with elements that make it new again. It could be a parody, a “fractured fairy tale,” or a new retelling, funny or serious. For my book Little Red and the Cat Who Loved Cake, I read so many nursery rhymes and fairy tales in order to populate the town with fun versions of recognizable characters for Little Red to encounter, it makes me appreciate these books even more.
This is a very meta version of The Three Pigs, which goes on to additionally be a meta version of a book experience. First, we see the wolf blow a pig right out of the story panel border, and then everything really implodes conceptually from there. The pigs then regroup in a non-book void, despite still being in the book we are holding, and from there devise a plan to return to their original story with a wolf-proof reinforcement they got from a different story. Sounds wild? It is.
Satisfying both as a story and as an exploration of story, The Three Pigs takes visual narrative to a new level. When the wolf comes a-knocking and a-puffing, he blows the pigs right out of the tale and into a whole new imaginative landscape, where they begin a freewheeling adventure as they wander-and fly-through other stories, encountering a dragon and a cat with a fiddle, among others. This familiar tale will never be the same old story again.
After escaping from a government holding facility where she, along with other scientists, was being forced to build a deadly weapon. She headed for the most remote place she could think of, the wild Xantifal Mountains.
I’ve never forgotten the thrill of my first ballet! My grandmother and I went to see The Nutcracker when I was five, and that first ballet experience inspired a lifelong love of dance. As a child, I adored dressing up and twirling around the house with my sisters, and I went on to study dance along with English Literature in college. Years later when my own daughters adored dressing up in pink tutus, I started writing about a determined little mouse who loves to dance, and so Angelina Ballerina was born. Children naturally love music and dance, and I hope the picture books I’ve chosen will inspire you and your family with the magic of dance!
Peppa is an adorable little pink pig, and the Peppa Pig books are full of family fun and laughter. In this 8x8 storybook, slightly older children will delight in Peppa’s very first ballet lesson as she learns some graceful dance steps with all her friends. When Peppa comes home and decides to teach her parents how to do ballet she gets quite a surprise! Wonderful humor and colorful, lively illustrations contribute to all the dancing fun.
A ballet-themed 8x8 storybook featuring Peppa -- a lovable, slightly bossy little piggy! Includes a poster of Peppa and friends!
Peppa Pig goes to her very first ballet lesson where she learns a graceful dance routine. But when Peppa decides to teach Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig how to dance, too, she finds out they might just have some dance moves of their own! Includes a poster of Peppa and friends!
After college, I studied economics and law. Working in antitrust lets me use what I’ve learned about both fields. I’ve been a professor at a law school and a business school and worked on competition issues while serving in senior government positions in multiple federal agencies, including both antitrust agencies. I also like working in antitrust because fostering competition is important to our economy. Competition encourages firms to pursue success by developing and selling better and cheaper products and services, not by coordinating with their rivals or trying to exclude them. And I like antitrust because the cases can involve any industry—I might learn about baby food one day and digital platforms the next.
This is the tenth in a charming series of children’s books about Freddy the Pig and the other talking animals on the Bean farm that began in the early 20th century, two decades before Orwell’s Animal Farm.
Freddy has been called a renaissance pig—a detective, poet, pilot, newspaper editor, and much more.
In this story, the rapacious owner of the local newspaper employs various underhanded tactics to shut down the rival paper edited by Freddy. The scheme is thwarted when Freddy’s lawyer, Old Whibley the owl, convinces a judge that the would-be monopolist engaged in “kidnapping, theft, and conspiracy in restraint of trade.”
As is evident, by the 1940s, when the book was published, antitrust was recognized in popular culture as the legal tool for protecting the victims of unfair competitive tactics—which is still how we see it today.
I teach writing for children and I’ve analyzed the elements that make a winning story. One of these elements is the magic of three. My idea for Finley Finds his Fortune, was sparked by a desire to write a folk tale with the magic of three and also by my visit to Whitechurch, the last working watermill in England. I was awed by the power and beauty of its water wheel so I wove a water mill into my story. To do this, I had to first study how a mill works. That’s what I love about writing children’s books―that I can explore my own personal interests and passions.
As author John Scieszka himself says he’s sold “bazilions of books” so he sure doesn’t need my endorsement but this is such a funny book I couldn’t resist. Yes, it tells the familiar story of the three little pigs but it does so in a wildly unfamiliar way—from the wolf’s point of view. Alexander T. Wolf tells the reader what really happened and professes his innocence. Despite having a cold, he was baking a cake for his dear grandmother when he needed to borrow a cup of sugar from the neighboring pig. What happens next he declares was not his fault yet he’s gotten a bad rap ever since. This is an offbeat, fractured fairytale that completely reverses the message of the original tale to give a new one: there are always two sides to every story.
Parades are a truly happy place for people of all ages. The inspiration for Everyone Loves a Parade!* came from the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles Superbowl Championship Parade - a spectacle the entire city enjoyed, drawing people with Philadelphia roots from all over. The communal nature of putting together a parade that carries on traditions and gives people a reason to share a celebration drove my interest in writing this book. The beautiful illustrations by Guilherme Franco bring the pages to life and allow readers to enjoy the wonder of parades from their living room couch - (where it’s much less messy).
Have you ever heard of a pig parade? It sounds like a great idea, right? Imagine pigs on floats. Pigs in a marching band. Pigs wearing fancy costumes. Who wouldn’t enjoy a pig parade? Read this book to find out what a pig parade might look like and if a pig parade would in fact be a terrible idea.
Could anything possibly be more fun than a pig parade!? You wouldn't think so. But you'd be wrong. A pig parade is a terrible idea. Pigs hate to march, refuse to wear the uniforms, don't care about floats, and insist on playing country music ballads. Those are just some of the reasons. And trust me, this hysterical book has plenty more!
