No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou, written by Rhonda Gowler Greene and illustrated by Brian Ajhar is a clever tale of the frustrations faced when Big Pirate Pete and his parrot, Igor storm into Seabreezy Library demanding the buried treasure that he believes is buried there. Readers are introduced to Pirate Pete when he insists that X marks the spot of the treasure which just happens to be where the library stands. Pirate Pete enters loudly and scares everyone except the librarian, Lou who promptly tells him to be quiet. She stands her ground and tells him that unless he is quiet there will be no pirates allowed in the library. When he does quiet down, she looks at his map and quickly agrees to help him look for the treasure if he will go home, take a bath and return the next day—which, surprisingly, Pirate Pete does.

Upon his return, Pirate Pete is just as loud as before and is ready to start his search with his pick, ax, and shovel in hand. However, Librarian Lou has other ideas and quickly brings Pirate Pete a barrel of letters so he can begin to understand that there are far more letters than just letter “X.” Librarian Lou teaches Pirate Pete all of the letters, and lots of words too and sends him home each night with the challenge to break the code. Day after day, he comes to the library and night after night, he searches through the books that Library Lou gives him to explore the treasure that is hidden within. Pete works hard and reads all of the books, Mother Goose, Dr. Seuss, books of the sea, and then onto non fiction where he learned things he had never known. He became so involved in the search through the pages of his books, that his pick and ax began to get dusty. Then suddenly, Pirate Pete realizes that he no longer dreams of finding the loot; instead, he is a reader—“and a good one to boot.”

Library Lou had accomplished her goal and was indeed proud to hang out a sign that said, “Pirates Allowed.”

While the author, Rhonda Gowler Greene uses playful language full of descriptive detail to describe the disturbances that Pirate Pete caused and his subsequent obsession with reading, Brian Ajhar provides colorful illustrations to extend those actions. Together, they create a humorous, yet poignant statement about the importance of reading.

No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou, written by Rhonda Gowler Greene and illustrated by Brian Ajhar is appropriate for ages 6-8.