A Pirate's Life for Me: A Day Aboard a Pirate Ship

Rating:
Summary: It Could Be Better!!!
Review: First off I want to say I loved the sea chanty tape. The book would have been better if it had a story line or gave more explanations. I've been reading about pirates for a few years, and I know some of the statements were wrong according to the books I've read. However the pictures are colorful and bright. And most young children would enjoy this simple book about pirates even though it's not quite cohesive or accurate. I will recommend this book for the younger children who are interested in piracy and need an introduction to history. A few months ago I read an excellent novel to my 5th grade granddaughter that was based on documentation and included photos. It was titled THE DIARY OF A SLAVE GIRL, RUBY JO and was about the week Blackbeard and his men on 4 ships held Charlestonians hostage to obtain medicine for his crews.That book had a good story, wonderful slave children characters, was funny, and entertaining! I recommend that one to anyone 10 and up.

Rating:
Summary: Indy Mom
Review: I bought this book for my son to learn more about pirates in the few weeks leading up to his 4th birthday when we will use a pirate theme. It's more of a factual telling about the life of pirates vs. a story and the violence one reviewer refers to is probably based on a picture of pirates coming over the bulwarks of a boat with cutlasses waving at fleeing victims. The book doesn't sugar coat the fact that pirates were thieves and pretty "naughty." It has really engaged my son in learning lots of pirate lore like what pets they had (parrots, monkeys and cats), what kind of treasure they were interested in, and their code of honor (a great intro for discussing our house rules), among other things. The book prompts lots of questions on his part. He has clearly enjoyed it and asks for it whenever pirates is the bedtime topic of choice. If you want something more playful, try Kathy Tucker's "Do Pirates Take Baths?" or David McPhail's "Edward and the Pirates." They won't be as educational, but they contrast (and complement) the realism of this book with a traditional fantasy-oriented approach.

Rating:
Summary: Great Pirate Book!
Review: My 9 year old son (who loves pirate stories) and I enjoy this book so much. It offers a true depiction of pirate life with some graphic details that have made my son want to read other books containing pirate history and lore. I think the best children's books are the ones that make kids want to keep on reading and learning. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Requested by Kids
Review: This book has nothing to do with violence as stated by the other review. I am only writing this to tell you that there IS no violence. This book is informative, intersting and factual. It had many new vocabulary for my kids to learn. My 3yr old son and 5 year old daughter beg to hear the tape several times a day. Tape has lively songs on one side and the text on the other - read by male and female individuals.

Rating:
Summary: An Okay Book for Preschool and Young Readers
Review: This book includes a wonderful cassette tape with finger snapping toe tapping songs for just about everybody. The pictures are colorful and exciting, however the text doesn't explain who pirates were/are, and there are several factual errors. One big error is pirates burying their treasure. Often pirates plundered ships of their cargo of furniture, clothing, provisions (food), etc. and they kept what they needed and sold the rest. When they spent their earnings they once again set sail. However inaccurate this book is, it is a fairly good preschool and 1st and 2nd grade introduction to a small segment of history. Older children, however, should be given nonfiction books about piracy that include bibliographies. They should also be given fiction such as Robinson Crusoe that is based on the life of an actual pirate named Alexander Selkirk as well as The Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo in which the protaganist witnesses Blackbeard and his men in 3 ships hold Charles Town hostage in May 1718.

Rating:
Summary: too violent for ages 4-8
Review: This book is entirely too violent for ages 4-8. While the illustrations are good, the text has various references to torture and killing. It may be factually accurate as to the life of a pirate, but its too much reality for young children.

Rating:
Summary: too violent for ages 4-8
Review: This book is entirely too violent for ages 4-8. While the illustrations are good, the text has various references to torture and killing. It may be factually accurate as to the life of a pirate, but its too much reality for young children.

Rating:
Summary: A Pirate's Life for Me!: A Day Aboard a Pirate Ship
Review: This book is so popular on the Seacoast of New Hampshire because, the real-life pirate of Brownie Macintoch, performer and songwriter, comes along with this book. He and Julie are a fixture of children's summer entertainment. (Check out www.juliebrownie.com)This book is a realistic portrait of a pirate without the details that are not necessary for young children. If this book interests a child, more books are available that have "those kinds" of details and others that are more gentle.

Rating:
Summary: An Okay Book for Preschool and Young Readers
Review: This is a good kids' book, with beautiful illustrations. It gives a good overview of life among eighteenth-century pirates, at a child's level, and will increase a kid's enjoyment of "Treasure Island" or Howard Pyle's wonderful pirate stories, later. This book's pirates are fascinating, somewhat romanticized, but NOT role-models (they're thieving scalawags! What did you expect?); the mentions of danger and violence were VERY restrained, however, and the sailors' folk songs on the flip side of the audiotape accompanying the book are well done, pleasantly sung and properly censored ("Fiddler's Green" has removed all references to "Hell", etc.). My boy has been singing about "Good Fish Chowdah" for days, and will enjoy this book and tape for a long time to come.

Rating:
Summary: Just right for my 4-year-old
Review: This is a good kids' book, with beautiful illustrations. It gives a good overview of life among eighteenth-century pirates, at a child's level, and will increase a kid's enjoyment of "Treasure Island" or Howard Pyle's wonderful pirate stories, later. This book's pirates are fascinating, somewhat romanticized, but NOT role-models (they're thieving scalawags! What did you expect?); the mentions of danger and violence were VERY restrained, however, and the sailors' folk songs on the flip side of the audiotape accompanying the book are well done, pleasantly sung and properly censored ("Fiddler's Green" has removed all references to "Hell", etc.). My boy has been singing about "Good Fish Chowdah" for days, and will enjoy this book and tape for a long time to come.