Wilson’s life is ship-shape now that his Uncle Pirate is the commander of Jolly Roger Elementary. But in this sequel to Uncle Pirate (2009), when a note arrives in a bottle for “Captin Desprit Evel Wiked Bob” from his former mutinous and now marooned crew, away he goes to help. Worried when the postcards stop arriving, Wilson, sneaky Principal Purvis, Uncle’s talking penguin and a few others set out in an old blimp, the Hyena of the Skies. Several weeks later they find Uncle Pirate and his crew on a tropical island. The pirates have been imprisoned and are forced to work in a sneaker factory by, coincidentally, Purvis’s no-good older brother. Wilson devises “a most terrible plan,” and what follows is a ruckus after which justice prevails, booty is divided and the pirates grudgingly accept that it was mainly ignorance that held them captive. Short paragraphs, snappy dialogue and Auth’s abundant comic illustrations move the story along briskly. Adventure, villains and overall mollymockery make this great armchair traveling for the pirate-loving middle-grade reader. (Ship’s Articles, glossary) (Adventure. 6-10)
