posted on 17 Feb 2022

The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain

I have a great affection for this story by acclaimed award winning author, Margaret Mahy and well known illustrator, Margaret Chamberlain which I used with children when teaching in the 1980s. I have only recently reread it and tried using with my grandsons who are three and five years old. On reflection, it might be a little old for them in terms of vocabulary, although they were engaged with the very detailed funny pictures and seemed entranced with the poetic use of language.

It tells the tale of Sam, an ordinary man who wears an ordinary suit and ordinary shoes. He works in an office and leads a pretty dull, predictable life. Perhaps he has chosen this very conventional life in defiance of his flamboyant mother who used to be a pirate! They live in a city, far from the seashore but she has a great desire to resume her more exciting life:

‘I want to fire my old silver pistol, and see the waves jump with surprise’.

Sam is unenthusiastic and points out that this will be very difficult as all they possess is a wheelbarrow and a kite. In the best storybook tradition, his mother assures him that will be perfectly fine, so, once he has told his boss Mr Fat that he needs two weeks off, they set off for an extraordinary mother/son adventure.

His mother lies resplendently in the wheelbarrow as he pushes her along and she tells him all about the sea:

‘ It tosses you up and pulls you down. It speeds you along, it holds you still. It storms you and calms you. There’s a bit of everything in the sea’.

As they travel they meet several people who caution them about the wisdom of the long journey. Despite all this, Sam is starting to be charmed by the magic that his mother is fascinated by. Even his appearance starts to change as he loses the buttons and tails of his suit!

I loved the double page spread when they have their first glimpse of the sea. Everything is there laid out splendidly before them: ships, a lighthouse, whales and even a mermaid. Sam is thrilled to bits and goes on to dance ‘hippy-hoppy-happy hornpipes’ with his mother on the beach

‘Farther out, the great ,graceful breakers moved like kings into court, trailing the peacock- patterned sea behind them’.

The final joy is to be invited to work on a ship by a big bearded sea captain who spots them on the shore. Sam loves his new life and a year later he sends a message in a bottle (of course) to Mr Fat recommending that he should also run away to sea.

For elderly adult readers like me, the lifestyle advice is clear. Like Sam, I need to think about where and how I want to live in the future. Running away to work on a ship doesn’t really appeal, but I shall be investigating spending much more time at the seaside as a compromise.

 

Karen Argent

February 2022