Was The Barbary Pirates mentioned? I just came across it at Greenleaf Press and thought I’d mention it. It’s by C.S. Forrester. I’ve not read it, just thought I’d toss it out there. Sorry if it’s already been mentioned, I did not see it when I scanned the posts.
I just ordered two pirate books for my boys for the year. Unfortunately, they haven’t arrived yet but here’s the descriptions I have.
The first is A Pirate’s Life for Me by Julie Thompson. It’s written for 4-8 year olds. It’s supposed to give a more realistic picture of pirates (not romanticized) without too much violence. I found it on Amazon and there are reviews there.
The second is Salt in His Blood by William R. Rang. I found it at http://www.veritaspress.com. It is the story of Michael De Ruyter who was a “sea-faring” man who cam in contact with many pirates and told them the gospel. Time period-Holland right before the pilgrims headed for Plymouth. It is listed in Veritas 5th grade books but I was thinking I could read it aloud to my 8 and almost 7 year olds.
I can let you know what I think once I get them. It should be sometime next week.
Rebecca, we have A Pirate’s life for Me and it is a good one. I appreciate how it keeps the unrealistic pirate myths (and glamour) to a minimum. The second book you mentioned sounds really, really good. I am definitely going to try getting my hands on that one, thanks!
I do have the books now but haven’t had a chance to look at them much. I will do my best to look them over, read the shorter on and at least read a little of the longer one and post again in the next couple of days.
A Pirate’s Life for me:very good pirate book especially for the younger set (ages 4-8). It had a lot of information about pirates, including jobs, animals they kept, burying treasure, etc. Very straight forward writing and good pictures. I definitely recommend this one.
Salt In His Blood: This turned out to not be a pirate book. It is about a God-fearing man. Basically a biography of his life. It was very good-lots of references to God and how he is in control of our lives, etc. So even though it was not a pirate book and isn’t appropriate for youngers (contains “appropriate” violence-ship battles, etc.), I would definitely recommend it for older kids (maybe Jr High and up). I do plan on adding it to my 11 and 12 year olds reading list for the year.