''Maggie and the Pirate'' is a 1979 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats.

Plot summary

Maggie's pet cricket Niki, in the cage her father built, is stolen by someone calling himself the Pirate. Maggie and her friends hunt all over the place, and finally she finds the Pirate's hide-out. However, during the rescue, Niki is accidentally drowned. Maggie and her friends bury the cricket, and the Pirate, a new kid in the neighborhood, comes to apologize and to bring back the cage, which has a new cricket inside.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' found "Keats' scruffy urchins with their black dot eyes are jaunty, though a shade too cute, and his marbleized skies at dusk are a shade too turbulent and charged for the relatively anemic story." but "...it is cheering to see the sun come out in these blurry, rainbow-colored pages." '' Publishers Weekly'' thought "The Caldecott Medalist's typically vital art graces this tender tale of a girl who finds a new friend while searching for her kidnapped cricket."

Musical

A children's

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

was commissioned by TADA! Youth Theater in 1989. I featured a score by David Evan and a libretto by

Winnie Holzman Winnie Holzman (born August 18, 1954 in Manhattan) is an American dramatist, screenwriter, and poet. She is known for having created the ABC television series ''My So-Called Life'', which led to a nomination for a scriptwriting Emmy Award in 1995, ...

. It was reprised by TADA in 1996, 2007, 2013, 2016 and 2022.

References

1979 children's books American picture books Books by Ezra Jack Keats Children's books about insects {{child-picture-book-stub