Now, the real-life adventures and the myths of the 18th century Pirate King Edward Teach have inspired a thrilling collection of biographical poems by J. Patrick Lewis—collected in a picture-book format that will quicken the pulses and fire the imaginations of young adventurers everywhere.
This dramatically illustrated book combines history, adventure, geography, and poetry in a treasure trove of rhymes about Blackbeard and his bloodthirsty seadogs. While Lewis's swashbuckling verse celebrates Blackbeard's mystique, the author's extensive historical note recovers the facts of Edward Teach's life from time-encrusted layers of legend.
The spine-tingling poetry also explores many lesser-examined realities amid the mass of mythology inspired by Blackbeard. Each of these 14 poems is written in a distinctive style as Lewis explores different aspects of the pirate's life.
Blackbeard's seaborne reign of terror also roars to life in carefully selected historical prints, dating back to the earliest known images of the Pirate King.
Blackbeard: The Pirate King is a rich chronicle of the most notorious pirate to ever scour the oceans. It's a book to be plundered and treasured by young dreamers with imagination in their blood, poetry in their bones, and a thirst for adventure on the high seas.
After nearly three decades as a professor of economics, J. Patrick Lewis turned to poetry. He is the author of more than 75 children's books including A Hippopotamusn't (1990), BoshBlobberBosh (1998), Please Bury Me in the Library (2004), First Dog (2009), Spot the Plot (2009), and The House (2009).
He has recently been named the third U.S. Children's Poet Laureate (2011-2013) by the Poetry Foundation.
His books have been published by Creative Editions, Knopf, Atheneum, Dial, Harcourt, Little, Brown, National Geographic, Chronicle Books, Scholastic, Candlewick, Schwartz & Wade, Holiday House, Sleeping Bear Press, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press, Dawn Publications, and others. Gulls Hold Up the Sky, his first book of adult poems, was published by Laughing Fire Press (2010).
Pat's children's poems have also appeared in CRICKET (26 times), SPIDER, LADYBUG, CICADA, ODYSSEY, RANGER RICK, HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN, Ms. Magazine, YOUR BIG BACKYARD, CREATIVE CLASSROOM, STORYTIME, STORYWORKS, CHICKADEE, AHOY, LANGUAGE ARTS, JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, BOOKBIRD, READING TODAY and over 100 anthologies. He wrote the 1992 National Children's Book Week poem, printed on one million bookmarks and distributed nationally.
Lewis has received numerous awards from the American Library Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and others. He was the recipient of the 2010-11 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Excellence in Children's Poetry Award, presented every two years.
WHERE I'LL BE NEXT--Schools, Bookstores, Conferences
October 14-16, 2011 Poetry Foundation--TED Lecture Chicago, Illiniois October 23-25, 2011 NY State Reading Assn. Rye Brook, New York October 28-31, 2011 Keystone State Reading Assn. Lancaster, Pennsylvania November 5, 2011 Buckeye Book Fair Wooster, Ohio November 8, 2011 Ashland University Ashland, Ohio November 15-16, 2011 St. Joseph's College Rensselaer, Indiana November 17-20, 2011 NCTE Convention Chicago, Illinois December 1, 2010 Hillview Elementary Newark, Ohio December 8, 2011 West Chester University (Dan Darigan) West Chester, PA January 18, 2012 Richard Avenue Elementary Grove City, Ohio January 24, 2012 Fouse Elementary Westerville, Ohio March 1-3, 2012 Charlotte Huck Ch. Lit. Conference Redlands, California April 3-5, 2012 Holland Hall Primary Tulsa, Oklahoma April 12, 2012 Washington-Centerville Public Library Centerville, Ohio April 13, 2012 Stingley Elementary Centerville, Ohio April 17-25, 2012 Anglo-American School Moscow, Russia April 29-May 2, 2012 IRA Convention Chicago, Illinois May 10, 2012 Wynford Elementary Bucyrus, Ohio March 22, 2013 OCTELA Conference Columbus, Ohio
This review is from: Blackbeard the Pirate King (Hardcover)
National Geographic publishers have turned their sights to the world of poetry, it seems. But not your namby-pamby flowers and sunshine type poems. No, sir. Poems with blood. Poems with gunfire. Poems with pirates! And what better way to celebrate all things piratical than with a little Blackbeard action, eh? With all things pirate hotter now than ever, the time is ripe for a book that can be part biography and part illustrated history. Throw in a couple pirate poems and the concept is a touch confusing, but no less amusing. Author J. Patrick Lewis culls together what little we know about Blackbeard's life and sets it ah-rhyming. Though a bit awkward and difficult to follow, I can think of no better work of poetry to hand to those boys forced to do poetry book reports against their will. Or, for that matter, pirate loving lasses.
The book is twelve poems, each of which documents a significant moment in Blackbeard's life. From his early days as Edward Teach to his eventual piratical apprenticeship under Benjamin Hornigold, Lewis weaves together fact and myth to bring us the a book that appreciates Blackbeard at his best. With lush color illustrations from such artists as Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and some contemporary works as well, the book is a bright brassy alluring look at a most notorious and mysterious historical figure.
The poetry itself is rather good. It scans beautifully and even tries for different poetic forms here and there. I can't tell my stanza from my ode, but I know enough about the art to know that Lewis is comfortable in escaping the standard a,b,a,b rhyme schemes so favored by lesser children's poets. I, for one, would have enjoyed a couple more sea shanties, of course. I mean, when you think of rhyming pirates you have one of two images leap to mind. Either "The Pirates of Penzance" or sea shanties. And if you're an original author, definitely go with the shanties every time.
One of the essential problems with this book is how the information is presented to the reader. If you happen to know Blackbeard's biography by heart then you should have no trouble reading the poems and figuring out what they refer to. For each section Lewis presents a picture, a poem, and, in tiny type, an explanation of the aforementioned at the bottom of the page. Sometimes these explanations clear up the poetry. Sometimes they don't. For the full story you have to flip to the back of the book and read through the Blackbeard Time Line. In terms of history and interest, this information should really be at the front of the book. I suppose the publisher figured the poem "The Brethren of the Coast" with its image of one man sword fighting with another made for a better opener. Still, for clarity's sake, I'd prefer a little history before my poetry. Or at least facts first, artistic license second. Though, of course, sometimes even the explanations leave one out in the cold. When we learn that Blackbeard would hold contests of some sort where he would, "light several ... pots of sulfur, close the hatches, and challenge his men to see who could stay below deck the longest", we're not entirely certain why this would be hard. An adult can probably figure out that sulfur stinks terribly and to stay would be near to intolerable. Child readers, on the other hand, are going to have to read a lot into the Frank Earle Schoonover painting that accompanies this info (an image which is more than a little oblique). That said, the facts that are here are fascinating. Blackbeard may have been born in Philadelphia... or maybe Bristol, England... or perhaps London, Jamaica. He eventually was pardoned by the English king in Bath, North Carolina and even settled down with a wife. Then he was off pirating again. That time period would make an excellent bit of historical fiction speculation, don't you think? I also loved the idea that someone could be apprenticed to a pirate. Not to bring it up again, but how much more "Pirates of Penzance" can you get?
Good rhyming pirate books are few and far between. Should you have a kid who would like to pair this with a slightly goofier outing, might I suggest grabbing a copy of Lisa Wheeler's, "Seadogs" as well. The timing of the publication of this book couldn't be better. Pirates are hot hot hot stuff. So when the next Talk Like a Pirate Day rolls around (September 19th) I hope you remember to pluck this pirate-laden book of Blackbeard fun off of your shelves for a look-see. It's flawed but still a lot of fun. Arrrghh!
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This review is from: Blackbeard the Pirate King (Hardcover)
I bought this for my daughter who, despite being a real 'girlie-girl', took a huge interest in pirates. She thoroughly enjoyed reading about Edward Teach - was particularly fascinated by Teach's practice of putting lit matches in his hat. And I am elated that she is interested in something not pink or glittery. Well written and illustrated.
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