Do you know of a game that’s a hybrid of “The Floor is Lava” and a pirate adventure? There is in Amy Shook’s make-believe story Lavanauts: Hot Lava Pirates and Sharks. Young people from kindergarten to second grade will enjoy reading about this seafaring—or lava-faring—mission.
The story begins when real-life, ordinary children in pirate costumes pretend to be hot lava pirates. This tale displays exemplary creativity as the children practice sea-dog language and build their ship with popsicle sticks. The leader is Captain Johnny Chase, and the others give themselves distinctive names—Lava Beard, Magma Jane, and Volcano Jack. Their mission even involves their pets Kraken the parrot and Jasmine the cat.
The Captain takes charge and sets boundaries yet lets his crew have the jobs they want. Interestingly, when the crew offers suggestions on ship names, Kraken the parrot wants the ship to be named after him, and the Captain refuses to name a ship after his parrot. My question is, why not? The Kraken sounds awesome, but maybe it would be confusing if the parrot and the ship have the same name.
There is mild crude humor with children laughing at the word “poop” in “poop deck” and considering naming their ship “The Booger.” But this story is rich in silly fun, tension, and excitement. When a vote results in a tie, they pull bones where a long bone or short bone wins. Shook describes the intensity of a bone-pulling session well: “A loud gulp sound fills the silence as Captain Johnny Chase watches the bones being pulled in slow motion.”
Their adventure is imaginary play, but the pictures illustrate their imagination as if they’re living their adventure for real. Their popsicle-stick ship is life-sized on the pages, and when they sail on the lava, everything below them is a fiery orange highlighted with yellow.
As they sail in a lava cave, excitement ensues as a storm barrages the ship and a lava shark chews through the wall. Both goofiness and terror are rolled into one as the parrot and cat hug each other “for the first time ever” while the shark’s head pokes through. Childlike storytelling plays out as the pirates rescue other kids in a playground from lava sharks. They try to lure the beasts with disco ball lights and grilled ham hocks, and succeed with a lava-diving light. The book ends with a cliffhanger, i.e. another mission from Lavanaut Headquarters. But the mission remains vague, and it leaves me wondering if there’ll be more books about the crew.
In a world of people staring at screens more than engaging in non-electronic activities, an outdoor game like the Lavanauts’ is a relief to read about. A sweet bonus is when the pirates recruit another girl to their team, so she joins the fun. If you want to be reacquainted with childlike joy and wonder in play, pick up a copy of Lavanauts.
