Book Review: A Greyt Pirate Tail by Miriam Payne

A Greyt Pirate Tail is the second book from Emmy Award winning ex-journalist and ‘accidental author’ Miriam Payne and for me has been the most anticipated new release of the year to date – I may have done a little happy dance when it arrived on the doormat! Having been lucky enough to review Miriam’s first children’s book, A Greyt Christmas Tail, Leo and I fell in love with Ramsey and Blue the books stars. Therefore, when I received an email at the beginning of the year to tell us the lovable pooches were set to appear in a second book we couldn’t wait to read it!

This time round rescue pooches Ramsey and Blue star in their very own swashbuckling adventure, when they stumble upon the Pirate ship responsible for giving them a fright the previous evening whilst out for walkies. Spying treasure Ramsey devises a plan to get their own back on the mean Pirates that scared his best friend Blue. Using the same initiative and braveness the lovable houndies showed us in the first book they sneak away from their humans, manage to out-fox the rotten Pirates and yet still be home in time for bed.

The inspiration for this story came from Blue’s dislike of fireworks. Blue was adopted by Miriam and her husband aged four after her retirement from greyhound racing. Many greyhounds have a dislike of loud noises and especially fireworks which in part comes from the fact that racetracks hold regular displays year-round. Ramsey and Blue have a close bond and Ramsey always does his best to comfort Blue when fireworks are being let off, this is reflected in the story and portrayed so beautifully.

Each page has four rhyming lines which I really love as it helps move the story along without having too many words per page – ideal for keeping kids engaged in the story. The beautiful illustrations by Anne-Marie Sonneveld give the dogs real character with a hint of humour thrown into the mix perfectly complimenting the story – be sure to keep your eyes peeled for Scary Hairy hidden on some of the pages too!

Leo was so excited when I showed him this book, instantly recognising Ramsey and Blue and demanding to read it immediately! This in itself is testament to how much he enjoyed A Greyt Christmas Tail! We both adore this new book, it’s full of adventure, fun, friendship and excitement, what more could you ask for from a children’s book!

Last year whilst reviewing A Greyt Christmas Tail I was saddened to learn that greyhounds are classified as livestock and not pets, something I was personally unaware of. Miriam hopes that by using her beautiful greyhounds as inspiration for her stories she will be able to educate the next generation to love and treat them more kindly in the future. She has also used sales of her books to generate much needed funds to support the Foal Farm Animal Rescue, whom she adopted Ramsey from, and the Birmingham Greyhound Protection by donating a percentage of her profits.

“Saving one dog will not change the world,

but surely for that one dog,

the world will change forever”

You can find out more about Ramsey and Blue and purchase your own copy of A Greyt Pirate Tail (RRP £9.99) from Miriam Payne’s website.

Why not follow Miriam and her gorgeous pooches over on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

*We were sent a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.