Module 11: What if you met a pirate?: An historical voyage of seafaring speculation: Written and illustrated by Jan Adkins

Book Summary: 


This is a grand tour of all things pirate-related, from their dress, lifestyle, eating, personal habits, to their accessories. There are some wonderful illustrations included that give the reader a real sense of what it was like on the ship.


APA Reference: 


Adkins, J. (2004). What if You Met a Pirate?: An Historical Voyage of Seafaring Speculation. Brookfield, Connecticut: Roaring Brook Press.


My Impressions: 


I have always loved pirates and thought this book was quite entertaining. Adkins gives quite a lot of illustrated information about the real daily life of pirates and these are funny, too, especially his drawing with a pirate sitting on the "seat of ease." To me, his book was not revealing, but it will be for a younger crowd, who will revel in its historical details, such as the different kinds of ships, weapons and famous pirates in history.

Professional Review: 


"Can it be that walking the plank was a fictional punishment invented by illustrator Howard Pyle? In this appealing book, Adkins gives readers the lowdown on what life under the pirate flag was really like. After setting up the conventional portrait of swaggering, singing sailors in colorful duds, he replaces it with a more realistic picture of hard-working sailors who "might swashbuckle just a few hours each month" and bathed considerably less. Yet this realistic portrayal of pirates and their activities is even more intriguing than the romanticized version he debunks. Adkins strikes just the right note in the text, always informative and frequently entertaining as well. Bright with color washes, the excellent, energetic drawings show pirates engaged in a variety of activities, from pumping out the bilge to braiding each other's hair to using the open-air bathroom at the front of the ship. In a send-up of current book marketing, the back cover carries appreciative comments by the likes of Queen Elizabeth I and Leonardo da Vinci. Where pirate fever runs high this spirited presentation will find an enthusiastic audience. For more titles, see the Read-alikes, "Ship Ahoy!" [BKL S 1 04]. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Nonfiction. 2004, Millbrook/Roaring Brook, $16.95. Gr. 3-5. Starred."

Phelan, C. (2004). [Book review of the book  What if You Met a Pirate?: An Historical Voyage of Seafaring Speculation by Jan Adkins]. Booklist, 101(4). Retrieved from Children's Literature Database via Ebscohost:  http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2378/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~nLSk4Y:1

Library Uses:

A good activity for the library would be to have a swashbuckling day. Everyone could come dressed up as a pirate and practice swashbuckling with pretend cardboard swords, of course. One could invite a teacher of swordplay and have a practice class in fake fencing.