Obadiah Starbuck is one of my very favorite characters in all of children’s literature. Who could resist a Quaker boy from Nantucket Island whose ambition in life is to become a pirate? Not just any pirate, of course, but rather Obadiah the Bold, Terror of the Seven Seas! However, when Obadiah experiences, in play, some of the more unpleasant aspects of piracy, he decides that maybe it would be braver and better to be an explorer of the seas like his grandfather.

There are so many things to like about this picture book. Obadiah is all boy; he reminds me of Karate Kid in his desire for adventure. Obadiah has a large and loving family. Obadiah is the fourth child of five and the youngest boy in the family. His father is kind and understanding and has time to talk with Obadiah and explain things to him. Obadiah’s family attends Quaker meeting each Lord’s Day. Their faith is taken for granted. The illustrations are exciting and colorful–just like the story.

This story of a typical boy in a normal loving family is set into a culture that is foreign to most of us, that of Quakers on Nantucket Island in the 1700’s. Children learn about cultural differences and about how children everywhere and in every time are much the same. Brinton Turkle wrote three more books about Obadiah and his family: Thy Friend, Obadiah, Obadiah and Rachel, and The Adventures of Obadiah. All four are worth collecting.

Picture Book Preschool is a preschool/kindergarten curriculum which consists of a list of picture books to read aloud for each week of the year and a character trait, a memory verse, and activities, all tied to the theme for the week. You can purchase a downloadable version (pdf file) of Picture Book Preschool by Sherry Early at Biblioguides.