The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters: The Jolly Regina by Kara LaReau, Illustrator Jen Hill

Jaundice and Kale Bland are just that:  Bland.  They have their routines and follow them every day.  They make no changes, hardly even go outside.  They have oatmeal for breakfast ALL THE TIME.  And they're waiting for their parents to come home.  They went out on an errand and haven't returned.  They're content with their lot.  They'll just keep waiting.  And then someone knocks on the door...

Amulet Books sent me an ARC of this book to read for review (thank you).  It will be published January 10th.

When one of them answers the door because the caller has promised a surprise, she's holding a burlap bag.  She tells them to look deep in the bag for their surprise.  Then she closes the bag and kidnaps them!

Imagine finding yourself on the Jolly Regina and surrounded by a batch of pirates.  Scary, eh?  Especially when you realize they are all women.  They are put to work swabbing the deck and the only thing that gives them courage is that the captain of the ship says she's seen their parents.  She marooned them on Gilly Gun's Island (very punny).

Now the Bland sisters are having all kinds of adventures each day.  There's a monkey on board who likes to steal buttons or anything eatable.  There's a fat cook who sorrows over her size but teasing makes her eat more.  Everyone is a bit odd.  Silly things happen, and it's all in good fun.  This has just a touch of Roald Dahl's type of humor.

The Bland sisters might not be swashbucklers but they keep up with the pirates. It will be interesting to see what new adventures they will have in the future.