Jack Plank Tells Tales (review)

Mild-mannered Jack Plank hasn't the flair for plundering of a proper pirate, but his mates aboard the Avarice enjoy his company and keep him on to mind the soup until they get back from their work. When pirating profits start to go south in the early 1700s, though, they reluctantly put him to port in Saltwash, Jamaica, wishing him well in finding an occupation to which he is better suited. He secures lodging at a boarding house, and with the help of Nina, the little girl whose widowed mother runs the place, he seeks what work may be found. At dinner every night, however, he relates his disappointment by telling a story that proves that he is ill suited to the various jobs that present themselves; each job reminds him of a person from his pirating days, the memory of which would make the work impossible. Jack might be a poor pirate, farmer, baker, fortuneteller, fisherman, barber, goldsmith, actor, and musician, but he's a dab hand at tale-telling, so when his florins and his prospects peter out, the widow and her boarders come up with a business proposition that will allow him to make money at what he does best. Babbitt's winsome grace and light touch find apt subject matter in the tales of these sentimental old pirates; we meet, for instance, a man who bakes a cake to win the heart of a mermaid, an old musician who befriends a crocodile with his flute, a rascal who may or may not have killed his companions for their share of buried treasure. There are wonder tales as well, with a hint of a shiver in them, but all remain gentle and upbeat. The boarders provide pleasantly humorous commentary on Jack's stories, and Babbitt's own illustrations add warmth as she teases out the sheepish grins, awe, regret, greed, and fear that render the stories diverse and interesting. Indeed, Jack's tales prove that pieces of eight and gold florins aren't the only treasures a pirate can pick up on the high seas. Softly shaded black-and-white illustrations combine coziness with rueful amusement.