About the Author

Ruth Morgan hails from Carmarthen but now lives in Penarth. She is a primary school teacher and an experienced author of books for children of all ages, from picture books for toddlers to teenage novels. Chris Glynn is a BA programme director at Cardiff School of Art and Design, UWIC, and is well-known as an illustrator, artist and animator.

Reviews

On board the bad ship Ych-a-fi, times are hard and cruel Captain Cranc forces the crew to eat horrible ship’s biscuits while he is fed on octopus pies and squid omelettes.
One day, the pirates land on an island and follow Captain Cranc in search of treasure. But when they find the treasure chest, there is no gold – the chest is filled with seeds, bags of compost and gardening tools…
Without anybody noticing, cabin girl, Gwen smuggles the treasure back to the ship and secretly plants the vegetable seeds in the crow’s nest so that the pirates can have delicious and healthy meals. How will Captain Cranc react when he finds out? And what about the mysterious seed sowed in Gwen’s hat?
Chris Glynn’s wonderful illustrations add visual humour to the text and bring the story to life. It is a story to gladden the hearts of all seafarers and gardeners as good triumphs over bad when eventually Gwen becomes captain and Captain Cranc becomes the cabin boy.
This delightful picture book is the brainchild of author Ruth Morgan who worked with her partner, Chris Glynn, to develop the story. Ruth is an experienced author of books for children of all ages, from picture books for toddlers to teenage novels. She currently teaches in Penarth where she also lives . . . and gardens although, unlike Gwen, Ruth’s kitchen garden is firmly based on dry land. Chris is BA programme director at Cardiff School of Art and Design, UWIC, and is well-known as an illustrator, artist and animator.
Also available in Welsh, entitled Môr-ladron yr Ardd ISBN: 9781848514911 (1848514913)
*Publisher: Pont Books @ Lolfa*

We are told on the cover of this picture book that it is ‘a very silly story’, and so it is – it is also hugely enjoyable and imaginative! The Ych-a-Fi is a seriously bad pirate ship. Its captain, Captain Cranc, feeds his crew on nothing but hard ship’s biscuit, while he feasts on ‘octopus pie and squid omelette’. He is also a bully, and in his fits of temper resembles nothing so much as a two-year-old in full temper tantrum mode. Believing that a treasure map will lead him to gold, he insists his crew dig up the riches, but he is disgusted to find nothing but seeds, compost, and garden tools. As he is carried back in a rage to the ship, Gwen, the cabin girl, secretes the treasure about her person and proceeds to plant the seeds up in the crow’s nest. Soon the vegetables begin to appear, and the poor benighted sailors are feasting far better than their furious captain. When he discovers the ploy, he is beside himself with rage and begins to destroy the garden the sailors have so lovingly tended. BUT ... there is one plant, a mysterious one, that can take revenge, and as it does, the tables are turned. There are some super themes in this book. Bullying is an obvious one, fair play is another. But a rather more subtle one is that the vegetables are delicious (as well as being a true treasure) and that tending one’s own plot can make them more delicious still. Vegetable-haters may well take the message ‘on board’! The illustrations, full of humour and detail with lots to talk about, add greatly to the fun. They are quirky and expressive and help us fully understand just how the Ych-a-Fi became the Yum-Yum-Yum!
*Elizabeth Schlenther @ www.gwales.com*