When Captain Plunk recovers a floating treasure chest from a ship that has just been sunk, he and his rascally crew are astonished and dismayed to find that it contains not precious pearls but Precious Pearl, a baby girl. After an attempt to make her walk the plank (which fails because she can’t walk yet), the pirates decide to keep her and raise her as one of them. Pearl takes to pirate life with gusto, but develops an embarrassing habit of giving treasure away. When Prince Basil comes searching for the long-lost Princess Pearl so that he can claim the reward, Pearl returns to land to claim her rightful home. The evil Count Crumple, who sank Pearl’s ship in the first place, is forced to relinquish the kingdom to her. But when Prince Basil suggests that his just reward is marriage to the princess, Pearl flatly refuses. Instead, Basil joins her pirate crew and helps her to give away treasure.

This is a rollicking, fast-paced story that plays with almost every pirate story cliché. Gilman’s delightful and melodramatic pictures only heighten the parody. Aside from sending up the pirate tradition, Gilman also plays with gender roles and other stereotypes: Captain Plunk’s crew is terror-stricken by the sight of a baby, Prince Basil swoons with love before the swashbuckling Pearl, and Pearl refuses to marry the Prince as fairy tale tradition demands. Moreover, Pearl’s Robin Hood tendencies turn the treasure-hunt motif on its ear.

Pirate Pearl is written in prose rather than verse, and fans of Gilman’s engaging poetry in her many other books may find this disappointing. Nevertheless, pirate-lovers of all ages are sure to be delighted by Pearl’s subversive brand of piracy.