John Steven Gurney is the author and illustrator of the graphic novel Fuzzy Baseball and the picture book Dinosaur Train. He is the illustrator of the A to Z Mysteries and lives in Brattleboro, Vermont.

'The imaginative illustrations in this excellent story about bossiness are first rate and deserve a wide audience. They are fun, too, in spite of the seriousness of the subject' - Healthy Books

Fun and friendship have a lot in common. They both require a lot of give and take. Jack and his friends share in imaginary play, and his bedroom quickly becomes an amazing pirate's ship. All are having fun, until Jack takes his part as Captain a little too seriously, and barks out orders till there is mutiny on the high seas. So you see, in order for friendships and fun to really be, it can't become all about me. (Ages 5-6) -- Midwest Book Review, Children's Bookwatch

A smart easy reader story about sharing and playing well together, The Bossy Pirate is a good read-aloud and a good independent book for newly confident readers. The sentences are slightly longer than beginning easy readers, and include imaginative words like scuttlebutt, barnacle, and nautical. Back matter includes a list of nautical terms that come up in the book, and a list of “nonsense words” that the pirate friends use. The artwork combines realistic and imaginative, with action going from Jack’s room to the high seas, where whales and dolphins glide and leap around a pirate ship. The group of friends is multicultural. The Bossy Pirate is good fun with a smart message: it’s always better to play well together. Let the kids make their own newspaper pirate hats and have a pirate storytime. -- Rosemary Kiladitis, Mom Read It

The moral of the story is, don’t be bossy! Nobody wants to play when they aren’t allowed to add their own ideas to the story. (Shreya - Age 8) -- Kids' BookBuzz