Marge is the babysitter that most children would love to have. She is small, has rainbow hair, and has amazing ways of planning fun and games. Her two charges, Jemima and Jake love to have Marge to babysit, but they fear she may have met her match when she has to look after their cousin, baby Zara. Marge is totally unfazed by Zara and insists that pirates love babies and that they all should become pirates and behave accordingly. When there is a loud noise, followed by a putrid smell, code brown is put into operation. Everyone cooperates.
This is the second book for children that Isla Fisher has written. It is filled with fun, adventure and imagination, as well as lots of big words. The book contains three stories, Marge the Pirate Nanny, Marge and the Stolen Treasure, and Marge and the Wacky Wedding. Each story involves the children being away from parental control, and needing to manage their own behaviour and issues, as well as baby Zara’s. Marge is never at a loss to follow mum’s rules, even though she has to assure Jake that sun cream also repels lions and tigers.
The illustrations are frequently scattered throughout the stories, and add to the humour. The sight of Nanny Marge doing a bomb in the local swimming pool is fun. The text is a good size with varying sizes according to the situation. When Zara cries, the WAA-OOOH can almost be heard. The language is well chosen, and Marge has the children spellbound when she tells them “I haven’t been this hot since I galloped across the Arabian Desert on my black stallion.”
For emerging readers these would be wonderful stories. There is a comfortable resolution to problems, the house is always spotless when Mum comes home, and the children love the ideas that Marge brings to them. She has rules, but always makes sure that there is no need to break them.
