Where haiku meets girl-empowerment, science, and exploration!
The Adventures of Piratess Tilly is an award-winning children's picture book series written in haiku by Elizabeth Lorayne and illustrated in watercolors by Karen Watson.
Meet Piratess Tilly
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The Adventures of Piratess Tilly
Book 1 in the series. Written in the poetic form of haiku, you are invited to come adventuring with Piratess Tilly, her rescued best friend, a koala named Yuki, and her band of international orphaned brothers in this award-winning picture book. As budding naturalists, they are all too eager for their expedition to the Galapagos Islands! While documenting flora and fauna, they spot baby giant tortoises being kidnapped . . . by pirates! How do Tilly, Yuki and the brothers save the tortoises?
Written in haiku by Elizabeth Lorayne and illustrated in watercolors by Karen Watson
"Tilly–tough, daring, and scientifically minded–is a capable heroine with an enviable life at sea." –Publishers Weekly
"Tells a thoughtful, eco-conscious story with a strong female lead, ideal for kids interested in poetry and adventure." –Kirkus Reviews
"A lively, swashbuckling tale of the power of compassion and the difference that one piratess and her crew can make to save an endangered species." –Johannah Barry, President of Galapagos Conservancy
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The Adventures of Piratess Tilly: Easter Island
Book 2 in the series. Written in the poetic form of haiku and illustrated in watercolors, this exciting tale invites you again to come adventuring with budding naturalist Piratess Tilly, captain of research ship Foster. Yuki, her rescued koala friend, and her crew of orphaned international boys are on their way to the most remote island in the world, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), where Piratess Tilly will dive to study the local fish. While exploring the mysterious monolithic statues and ruins, they happen upon a smuggling of sooty tern eggs by pirates! Can Piratess Tilly, Yuki and the brothers safely save the eggs?
Written in haiku by Elizabeth Lorayne and illustrated in watercolors by Karen Watson
"An eye-pleasing picture book that offers a winning mix of adventure, science, and poetry, with a strong heroine who invites readers to view the world as a place of natural wonder" –Kirkus Reviews
"Piratess Tilly is a swashbuckling heroine in a charming tale of scientific adventure!" –Jo Anne Van Tilburg, Ph.D. Director, Easter Island Statue Project
Meet the Creators
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Elizabeth Lorayne, Author and Publisher
Elizabeth Lorayne is an author, artist and mother, inspired by nature, history and the daily rhythms of her surroundings. As the granddaughter of Admiral Walter T. Griffith and having spent her own childhood sailing and exploring the shorelines of the Pacific Northwest, she has developed a deep respect, curiosity and love for water, exploration and creativity. Now, while raising her daughter on the Northern Atlantic coast, Elizabeth feels a desire to remind all of us of our forever shared companion – Mother Nature; and with that reminder, to press upon us to cherish and protect her.
Elizabeth is a graduate of The New School in Manhattan and a current member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Watercolor Portrait by Karen Watson
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Karen Watson, Illustrator
Karen Watson an artist, illustrator and visual effects compositor living on the stunning west coast of British Columbia. Since graduating from film school in 1999, She has worked as an artist in the film and television industry, run her own greeting card company, Blue Belle design, and was the curator for a local art gallery. In pursuit of a balance between her passion for digital and textile creativity, in 2006 she jumped down the rabbit hole to pursue the art of illustration. The opportunity to study and understand light, colour and composition, gave her the skills and the eye to create illustrations using the organically beautiful medium of water colours. Karen’s whimsical, fairytale style lends itself well to children’s books, with the goal to delight both children and adults with illustrations that tell a story through attention to detail and design. Karen feels fortunate to be working as both an illustrator and an awards nominated digital compositor in visual effects. She is a proud member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, inspiring young minds to read. You can find her illustrations at Karenwatson.com and a list of her film work on IMBD.
Watercolor Portrait by Karen Watson
Reviews and Awards
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"This delightful book takes young readers of a wonderful journey of exploration across the ocean to Easter Island. The tale is told using haiku poems, and it is accompanied by lovely artwork. At the back of the book readers will find further information about Tilly’s heroes: Charles Darwin, and Katherine Routledge." –Marya Jansen-Gruber
Read the review here.
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March/April 2017: The Adventures of Piratess Tilly: Easter Island was selected for an editorial review for the Children's Picture Book featured section in the March/April issue of Foreword Reviews magazine.
“A brave sea captain, aspiring scholar, and rescuer of orphans, Tilly boldly sails through the Pacific bound for Rapa Nui, in the second installment of Elizabeth Lorayne’s poetic Piratess Tilly series, The Adventures of Piratess Tilly: Easter Island. Detailed and dreamy, fluid watercolors by Karen Watson enrich each verse of haiku as Tilly and her crew attempt to rescue some sooty tern eggs, all the while observing and cataloging the wonders of nature around them. ” –Foreword Reviews
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In this second installment of an ecologically based adventure series for children, a young naturalist and ship’s captain sails to a remote island and discovers a threat to the local wildlife.
Piratess Tilly—the refreshingly bold, smart heroine introduced in Lorayne’s debut picture book (The Adventures of Piratess Tilly, 2016), illustrated by Watson—takes to the sea again on her research ship, the Foster. She’s accompanied by her friend Yuki (a rescued koala bear) and the seven orphan boys who make up her diverse crew. Their destination: Easter Island. Unfolding in graceful haiku, the tale follows passionate naturalist Tilly (“An explorer’s dress / Patch pockets for her notebooks / Trade tools in her bag”) as she studies the mysterious Moai statues and scuba dives to observe marine life native to the area, sketching and cataloging what she sees. The trip takes an unexpected turn when the crew encounters pirates raiding the nests of sooty terns in an egg-smuggling venture, and the group launches a successful rescue effort, led by parasailing Tilly and Yuki. (In the first Tilly adventure, a trip to the Galápagos Islands became a mission to save baby giant tortoises from the clutches of another band of pirates.) Lorayne’s poetic text is fully integrated into Watson’s lovely watercolor images, executed with an eye for captivating detail. The tale delivers enough escapades and suspense to satisfy a young audience, but the author also includes ample learning opportunities to encourage children to seek out the story’s substantial real-life underpinnings. These include examples of sailors’ knots, a glossary of words and terms—endemic, expeditions, trade winds, thermals, etc.—and various fish species skillfully rendered by Watson. In addition, the volume features short biographies of Tilly’s 19th- and 20th-century inspirations, Charles Darwin (“Darwin on her shelves / Evokes her scholarly dreams / Coral reefs and fish”) and anthropologist Katherine Routledge, written by science historian Michael Barton and archaeologist Jo Anne Van Tilburg.
An eye-pleasing picture book that offers a winning mix of adventure, science, and poetry, with a strong heroine who invites readers to view the world as a place of natural wonder.
Read the review here.
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January 11, 2016: 5 STAR review of The Adventures of Piratess Tilly
“The Adventures of Piratess Tilly is a beautifully put together picture book that uses haiku poetry to convey its story...An enchanting and beautifully illustrated story features a young girl’s shipboard adventures.” –Clarion Reviews
Read the review here.
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Lorayne crafts an environmentally focused adventure told through haikus and punctuated by moments of excitement. Piratess Tilly, a brunette girl in patchwork jeans, travels on the research vessel Foster with a crew of young sailors from around the globe and her fedora-wearing koala, Yuki. Watson depicts Tilly and Yuki’s time aboard the ship in gentle watercolors with light fantasy elements. Tilly and Yuki read Charles Darwin and Beatrix Potter in their cozy cabin, a smiling crescent moon shining through the window, and collect nature specimens to study and sketch: “Many days passing/ Best used for examining/ What would Darwin think?” The plot turns from wildlife examination to conservation when Tilly and the crew discover that nefarious pirates are smuggling baby giant tortoises from the Galápagos Islands. In a perilous—albeit brief—mission, Tilly and her crewmates rescue the tortoises and release them into the sea. While the sequence of haikus can make for a slightly herky-jerky narrative, Tilly—tough, daring, and scientifically minded—is a capable heroine with an enviable life at sea.
Read the review here.
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Michael D. Barton of The Dispersal of Darwin wrote a lovely book review of The Adventures of Piratess Tilly.
Read the review here.
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In this picture book, an adventurous girl and her crew of orphaned boys sail the high seas and intercept a band of pirates kidnapping tortoises.
Told in haiku, Lorayne’s debut picture book, with illustrations by Watson, introduces readers to Tilly, a girl with a courageous spirit and patched jeans who sails around the world on the Foster with her crew of orphaned boys. Together with Yuki, a koala Tilly rescued from Australia, they use a compass and star chart to explore the ocean, all while cataloging, sketching, and studying what they find, including whales, birds, and other sea life. All is calm until they head to the Galapagos Islands and spy pirates kidnapping baby giant tortoises. The crew of the Foster doesn’t hesitate to act and steal onto the pirates’ ship to right the wrong. Lorayne has written a thoughtful take on the pirate genre, with a female-led crew focused on science and discovery. There’s a strong awareness of ecology, though the text also still works as an adventure. The seamlessly incorporated haiku also work well, serving as an appreciable introduction to the poetic form for young readers. In addition to being lovely poems, the haiku clearly explain the moment. For instance, “Just off the port side / Magnificence of the sea / Humpback whales surface.” With such little text, Watson’s artwork has ample space on the page to help illustrate what’s happening. The beautiful watercolors feature rich colors and intricate details. Some of the vocabulary and references, such as one to Darwin, could be challenging for young readers, so the story offers plenty of opportunities for further investigation in the classroom or at home.
Tells a thoughtful, eco-conscious story with a strong female lead, ideal for kids interested in poetry and adventure.
Read the review here.
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The Adventures of Piratess Tilly Series won Bronze for Best Children's Picture Book Series
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The Adventures of Priatess Tilly won as the 1st Runner Up for the Children's Book category and had also made the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Short list.
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"Each year, the Eric Hoffer Award presents the First Horizon Award for superior work by debut authors (i.e. the first published book of any type by the author). This is an additional distinction beneath the Eric Hoffer Award umbrella."
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"Each year, Foreword Reviews shines a light on a select group of indie publishers, university presses, and self-published authors whose work stands out from the crowd... Foreword Reviews with celebrate the winners during a program at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida in June [2016]."
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The Adventures of Piratess Tilly won a gold medal for the "Heroes'" category of the Gelett Burgess Children's Book Awards. For this award, the "advisory council looks for books that entertain and teach with an energetic and creative approach. The books the Center selects must stimulate the child's imagination, as well as inspire them creatively. Advisory council members want to know a book will make an impact in a child's life by helping them grow: socially, emotionally, ethically, intellectually, and physically."
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The Adventures of Piratess Tilly won a gold medal for the Moonbeam Spirit Award for Exploration, a Moonbeam Children's Book Award. The Moonbeam Spirit Awards: "For dedication to children's books and literacy and for inspired writing, illustrating and publishing. This year we chose books in five different areas. All recipients will receive gold medals.
Some Press Over the Years
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“Meet Elizabeth Lorayne of White Wave Press in Newburyport”
Read it here.
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“The book release party will not only include crafts, lollipops, and commemorative bookmarks, but it will also be a fundraiser for Cure SPG47 (curespg47.org), a non-profit organization devoted to seeking a cure for spastic paraplegia-47, an extremely rare, newly recognized degenerative genetic disorder resembling cerebral palsy. All proceeds from the launch party and from the Piratess Tilly Shop online (piratesstilly.com) will benefit Cure SPG47.”
Read about it here.
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“April's Family Fun Days sail into the Custom House Maritime Museum next week, along with a special appearance by Piratess Tilly, the heroine of two critically acclaimed books by local author and Newburyport mom Elizabeth Lorayne. We caught up with Elizabeth to find out more about the book series and its focus on a smart, strong female character who loves science and exploration.
Newburyport Macaroni Kid: Many children's-book authors are inspired to write because they perceive a gap in representation for a certain kind of kid. Did you feel that there was something missing from bookshelves?”
Read more here.
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Elizabeth Lorayne was featured as the ‘Member Spotlight’ for the Greater Newburyport Mothers and Families Club.
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Elizabeth Lorayne and The Adventures of Piratess Tilly were mentioned in an article on The Northwest School’s website as a part of their ‘News.’ “In his RNCSE [Reports of the National Center for Science Education] article, Mark specifically credits NWS alumna Elizabeth (DeFeo) Lorayne ('02) as one of those success stories. Elizabeth recently released a children's book entitled The Adventures of Piratess Tilly, which details the story of a pirate heroine and her koala traversing the globe, including the Galapagos Islands, as naturalists. The book is entirely written in haiku. The RNCSE selected an illustration from The Adventures of Piratess Tilly for the cover of its current issue.”
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Elizabeth Lorayne and The Adventures of Piratess Tilly were quoted and mentioned in the newspaper, The Eager-Tribune in regards to the book collection event for the School for Exceptional Studies in Lawrence, MA by the company, American Training Inc. "I couldn't be more honored to have read my children's book to this group of enthusiastic and involved children. Hearing them excitedly respond when asked interactive questions throughout the book reading, was beyond words."
Read more here.
