Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the pirates: swashbucklers, scoundrels (neighbors beware!). Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt. Boston: Harcourt Children's Books, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-15-205908-8.
Author Website: http://www.kathleenkrull.com/
Illustrator Website: http://www.kathrynhewitt.com/
Media: Watercolor
Special Notations: 2010 Copyright Date, Non-Fiction
Annotation: Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt have teamed up again to bring readers a funny, but factual book full of information about history’s most notorious pirates.
Personal Reaction: Krull’s witty writing and Hewitt’s drawings of pirates with oversized heads immediately caught my attention when I picked up Lives of the Pirates: Swashbucklers, Scoundrels (Neighbors Beware!). This picture book for older readers is a captivating read and includes the tales of familiar names such as Captain Kidd, Blackbeard and Black Bart, as well as a number of lesser know pirates. I was surprised to learn that there were a number of female pirates including Alvilda whose “father, king of the Goths, arranged an excellent marriage for her to Prince Alf of Denmark.” Per Krull, “Apparently Alvilda was unenthusiastic. She ran away and became a pirate instead,” (p.15). Krull entitles Alvilda’s entry, “A Case of Cold Feet?” (p. 15). Krull also clears up the rumor that Long John Silver was a real pirate, labeling his entry, “Not a Real Pirate,” (p. 93). Long John Silver was a fictional pirate invented by writer Robert Louis Stevenson. A list of additional pirate books is provided at the back of the book. Hewitt starts the book with a double-page map showing the waters terrorized by each pirate included in this collection. This captivating picture book is a wonderful read for older readers for pleasure; it will appeal to those with or without a specific interest in pirates and is an excellent example of why kids shouldn’t abandon picture books – at any age! I have also read Krull and Hewitt’s Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought). In my opinion, books by this talented author / illustrator team would be great gift books or enticing books to leave laying on a coffee table. I personally keep a stack of books such as these on a table next to a couch in the library where I work and will soon be adding Lives of Pirates to my stack.
