Books I'd Recommend to Young Pirates

Yesterday was National Talk Like a Pirate Day. In honor of that swash-buckling holiday, I thought I might give ye some pirate recommendations—or rather some books I would give ye to read ifin ye be a pirate looking for a good book. Enjoy me hearties! And yo ho ho and all that!

How to Be a Pirate by Isaac Fitzgerald illustrated by Brigette Barrager

This is another pirate book that talks about what it takes to be a pirate—and if it is okay for girls to be pirates or not. Swash-blucklin’ fun!

Milo is Missing Something by Vern Kousky

This is a sea tale that many pirates might relate to. Milo, a cute little octopus, is going on adventures in the ocean and is trying to figure out what he is missing (his family). Any pirate who sails away from family for any length of time will relate to this particular story.

No More Plastic by Alma Fullerton

I suspect that pirates who sail the seven seas would not like to sail among large floating heaps of plastic garbage. This is a book I would give to the environmentally conscientious pirates.

Oh Look, a Cake! By J.C. McKee

I would give this book to a pirate just based on the fact that Sloth and Lemur come across a delicious treasure (a cake!) and decide to eat it themselves. Many pirates will relate to the “finders keepers” feel of the story.

Pirate Stew by Neil Gaiman illustrated by Chris Riddell

This is a great book about a bunch of pirate babysitters that come to do lots of rhyming and silly things. This is a must-read for young pirate lovers.

Comments

Stand Tall by Joan Bauer

Stand Tall By Siena Siegel by Joan Bauer Putnam, 2002, 182 pgs Realistic Fiction Tree is 12 years old and over 6 feet tall. That would be great if he were a basketball player, but he is not. Dealing with his unusual size is not Tree's only challenge. Tree's parents have recently gone through a divorce, and his grandfather has had his leg amputated as the result of an old Vietnam War injury. The strength of this book is the characterizations. All of the main characters are dimensional and sympathetic. Bauer sets the characters in real and often funny family situations. Best of all is the character of Tree. He is boy with a heart to match his stature. This is a great book for boys or girls ages 9-12, as a read aloud or for individual reading. This book could also be a good Rx book for children whose families are going through divorce, or for anyone who feels like they don't fit in.

Review: The New Girl

The New Girl By Cassandra Calin New York: Graphix, 2024. Comic. 261 pages. 12-year-old Lia and her family have just moved from Romania to Montreal, and she's doing her best to keep up with the changes. But, she's homesick. She misses the rest of her family, her friends, and her favorite Romanian treats. She doesn't speak French and her English is shaky, which makes it hard to make friends, even in her international immersion class. And she's dealing with super painful menstrual cramps every month. But before long, Lia starts to hit her stride. She befriends the other bilingual girls in her class, she gets a spot as the artist for her school's magazine, and even has a new crush -- Julien. Though she may be the new girl, Lia is starting to fit in. This slice of life graphic novel is an adorable choice for middle grade readers and young teens. Lia is a likable protagonist and readers will have little difficulty relating to her adjustment to school. The text speaks to a...

Review: Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker

Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker By Heidi Heilig New York: Greenwillow Books, 2025. Fiction. 291 pages. Thanks to Cincinnati Lee's no good, dirty rotten, artifact stealing great great great grandfather, Cincinnati's family is now cursed and Cincinnati feels like it's up to her to break the curse. Which involves trying to steal the artifacts back from museums that her grandfather robbed from graves and archeological sites around the world and return them to their countries of origin. But when Cincinnati's first artifact stealing mission goes awry, she decides it might be more effective to steal an all-powerful artifact herself that she can use to break the curse - The Spear of Destiny. Unfortunately her race for the spear will pit her against art smugglers and thieves intent on finding the ancient artifact themselves. If you are looking for an Indiana Jones read-alike, this is the perfect for you! Heavy on the adventure with similar levels of mysticism to those seen in th...

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