The Pirate Librarian

By Tania Stenbeck

Jordy and his family move to a small sea-side town that is dying and where he feels like he doesn’t fit in with the other kids at school. He hears rumours that the school librarian is a pirate and with a new friend, decides to find out the truth, ultimately, making the town face it’s varied past. This entertaining novelette is about friendship, perseverance, acceptance, and imagination, it is a great short read for any youth and adults alike!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tania Stenbeck
• Release date: Jan 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215946916

Tania Stenbeck

I was born in Hinton, Alberta, Canada and raised in the rural area of Barrhead, Alberta, Canada. As a child, I loved to read, draw, ride her horse, write poems and short stories. I wanted to be an author at 5 years old! I studied Community Rehabilitation Services at Red Deer College, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada and finished my secondary schooling in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, after marrying my husband and moving to Calgary. I am a mom to four wonderful children, an Educational Assistant, volunteer with Girl Guides of Canada. I enjoy time with family, our dogs, leisure kayaking, leisure cycling, reading, camping, travelling and working on my Celtic art. I received the 2019 recipient of the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, mostly for my volunteer work in Guiding. (It is the highest honour for volunteer service that an individual can receive within the Canadian Honours System.) and have received other awards in volunteering through Guiding and photography. I have presented at workshops on various subjects and taught Celtic art workshops.I still love to read, write and create whenever possible. This is my first chapter book, my first book (a picture book) “A Witch is a Witch...All the Time”, I also illustrated.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: New Friends

Chapter 2: Ms. Perroquet’s Office

Chapter 3: Changes

Chapter 4: The Boy’s Plan

Chapter 5: The Stake Out

Chapter 6: The Secret Passage

Chapter 7: The Find

Chapter 8: How it all Started

Chapter 9: A Promise of Secrecy

Chapter 10: A Few Mysteries Unveiled — Another Arises

Chapter 11: Secrets are Hard to Keep

Chapter 12: Ms. Perroquet’s Plan

Chapter 13: The Secret Starts to be Revealed

Chapter 14: The Pirate Ship

Chapter 15: Still Some Questions

Chapter 16: Ms. Perroquet’s Pirate Act?

Glossary

Author’s Note

Bibliography/Resources

About the Author

All characters and events in this novel are fictional.

Chapter 1: New Friends

Boom! Boom! read the librarian, Ms. Perroquet. Jordy jumped, his heart pounding. The cannons echoed back at the pirate ’ s ship, she continued, as it raced toward the limping schooner.

As Ms. Perroquet turned the page, all sixteen pairs of ten-year-old eyes were glued to her and the book. Jordy shifted a bit to get comfortable. It was a week into grade four at his new school, and he was still trying to figure out if all the stories he ’ d heard about the librarian were true. Library time was supposed to be spent listening to her read a story and signing out a book. It didn ’ t always work out that way.

‘ Abandon ship! ’ shouted the schooner captain. ‘ Long John Silver ’ s ship is near! ’ Ms. Perroquet paused and turned the page very slowly, as she peered down over her glasses, at the kids with her green eyes, stopping at Jordy. Jordy played with his shoelace. He was sitting in front of her, but he couldn ’ t look at her. He was a little afraid and more than a little curious about Ms. Perroquet. To him, she looked about a hundred years old. She was, in reality, only forty-five, but she didn ’ t use dye in her shoulder-length auburn hair, which had more white in it than most women her age. She adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses, which she wore perched half way down her nose, and continued reading.

Jordy had glimpsed Ms. Perroquet earlier that week. She walked a bit oddly, as if she had a limp. He wondered if the second story he ’ d heard — about her having a wooden leg — was true. Some of the kids in grades five and six told the younger kids that Ms. Perroquet read pirate stories every week to each class in the school. There were seven classes in their elementary school. That was a lot of pirate stories! There were more rumours about her, too.

Story number one seems right, Jordy thought. He felt a whoosh of air as Ms. Perroquet thumped the book shut, startling him out of his thoughts.

He sighed. The thump had made him jump for what was probably the millionth time that morning. He really had to be more watchful — he would be the youngest kid to have a heart attack if this kept up. He was still very nervous about this whole small-school thing. Everyone realized he was a new kid, and he didn ’ t like the attention it brought to him.

Jordy ’ s teacher, Mrs. Kent, gave the kids time to check out some books and then instructed them to line up to go back to class. Jordy stood friendless at the back of the line. He shuffled his feet while Mrs. Kent scolded a boy named Pete, who ’ d pushed his way in front of a boy named Jake. Jake had stumbled and his head had bounced off a bookshelf, and now he was trying really hard not to cry. Jordy thought Jake was more embarrassed than hurt, though. Mrs. Kent sent Jake to get an icepack for his head, and then she promptly took Pete ’ s hand in what looked like an iron grip with a You are going to the office look on her face.

It wasn ’ t my fault, Pete said, scrunching his face in anger. He was in my way.

Pete seemed to be one of those boys who felt the need to do the opposite of what he was asked. Mrs. Kent had sent him for two time outs every morning this week and had already sent him two more times after lunch! Nobody really wanted to be around Pete. The kids in their class were afraid of him and gave him a wide berth.

Most of the kids had gone to school together since kindergarten and had their own circles of friends. From what the other kids had told Jordy, families didn ’ t usually