Interview with Tim Bete and Cap'n Billy "The Butcher" MacDougall, Authors of Guide to Pirate Parenting - Page 2

Tell us a bit about Guide to Pirate Parenting.

TB: Mostly it was Cap’n Billy’s dagger.

CB: It’s me dream that thousands of parents raise their little powder monkeys as pirates. Then I can put together a huge crew and plunder to me heart’s content. There’s nothing more exciting than sailing with Cap’n Billy, except maybe a merchant vessel full of gold.

Did the book require a lot of research?

CB: None at all. I’ve been a pirate all me life. When I was a baby, me mother wrapped me in a sail. I teethed on hardtack. I know everything about pirating and raising pirates.

What will the reader learn after reading your book?

TB: Our book teaches parents every aspect of pirate growth and development — from baby pirate care through the teen years — so their kids can become self-respecting swashbucklers of the high seas or suburbs. It answers common questions such as:

• At what age should your child be able to remove a bottle cap by taking out his glass eye and using his eye socket as an opener?
• What’s the best place to maroon a disobedient child?
• How do you remove chewing gum or a giant octopus from your child’s hair?
• How do you convert your minivan into a pirate schooner?
• When should you smack your teenager in the side of the head with an oar?

Each information-packed section ends with “Your pirate’s progress,” a short quiz that shows whether your child is reaching his or her pirate development milestones. For example, if your son has said “I’ll need another ration of grog if you expect me to eat these peas,” or told his teacher his homework was “eaten by a giant barracuda when the family’s ship wrecked on a coral reef near the Dry Tortugas,” you’re well on your way to having a pirate in the family.

Article Author: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani is the National Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com.

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