The Pirate Cruncher

Personally I did not like the story and I found it too dark and macabre for my 5 year old. My child's response to the book, however, sums up what he felt about it, he said "mummy, this story is really boring! I didn't like it at all". In addition, he actually thought I was about to read "The Pirates Next Door" (which he has read and enjoyed multiple times) as, at a very first glance the covers for "The Pirate-Cruncher" and "The Pirates Next Door" look rather similar.I too, like other parents found it difficult to read as a bedtime story; not just because I thought the dark content would induce nightmares but because much of the writing was on a dark background and it was really difficult to not only see the text but also the detail in the artwork. Yes, the artwork is indeed beautiful and unusual and I would give it full marks just on that basis, but as a whole this book does not quite work as bedtime reading. Having said that, I think this book may work well for slightly older children, especially boys, say 7-8 years old so I'll keep it in my little boy's library and bring it back out when he is a little older.

I love reading books to my 5yr old son usually 2-3 a night so we get through quite a lot. Before buying I always do a bit of research but the reviews weren’t amazing for this book however it is a really fun story which keeps my son engaged every read. Admitedly I have to put on a poor pirate/west country accent for the riddle bits but my son loves it even though I feel silly. Great story which has a subliminal message about being greedy and what happens when you are a nice side benefit.This is a great book on par with Stick Man and Oi Cat series – a must buy

And over and over again. I literally know this book off by heart. 'It was unusually quiet in port royal, but if you listened carefully along the quayside and in the candlelit taverns you could hear the faint sound of a fiddle on the wind. Outside the thirsty parrot inn a fiddler appeared and as he fiddled he sang...." I would start singing but I doubt you'd appreciate my musical talent. My husband bought this book about 3 years ago and my son loved it so much it was a fixed part of his bedtime routine, I even had to sing it to him while I was in early labour with his sister. This book was continued to be adored and my daughter then took it to be her favourite bedtime story, yet again I was reading and singing it to her when in early labour with her younger brother. I have now bought another copy of this as a gift for a friend who has pirate mad children and hope they enjoy it as much as we do here. I have avoided buying the version with the cd as I expect it would be (better) different to our version.This is a book to keep and treasure. Hope you all enjoy it :)

My daughter absolutely loves this book, and I love reading it to her. I was a little worried that it might be too scary for her (she’s 15 months) but she laughs at the cruncher. This is a book that she always grabs as soon as she sees it and wants me to read it to her. I personally love it as I notice more everytime I read it to her.

Its our second Jonny Duddle book (after the Pirates Next Door) and the quality and illustrations are brilliant.Only thing for Parents of toddlers (ours is 2) this doesn't have a happy ending which upset our boy, we did explain its only a story but will wait to see if he lets us read to him again!

My boys (age 3 and 6) absolutely love this book! They ask me to read it before bed almost every night, which I don’t mind as it’s a fun one to read with lots of opportunities for silly pirate voices! The monster isn’t scary at all, neither of my boys are bothered by it, they think it’s cool! My 6 year old spotted the twist at the end and thought it was fantastic! They often sing the fiddlers song as they’re playing “I was sailing one day and what did I see...”

Brilliant book. Me and my 5 year old love the whole series. We have bought as presents for other children as we loved them so much. Great author for all ages. We love the way one short story has been extended for older children as a chapter book. Just brilliant.

I read this after Duddle's other pirate book, The Pirates Next door. That book rhymes throughout and so has a great strong consistent bouncy rhythm. This book only rhymes in part (for speech?) which confused me in how to read it aloud. Having said that it's a great story.I had a little issue though with my copy... There's a big fold-out page in the book, and this was a little ripped in my copy. I'm not sure if this is because the flap comes out downwards, so perhaps if the book is not opened fully, the place where it folds might get a bit ripped. This will get worse over time. Anyone else experience this?