What If You Met A Pirate? [Paperback]

Jan Adkins (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

"You know all about pirates. They were big guys with fancy hats, silk jackets, peg legs, and parrots cursing on their shoulders. They sailed big ships with brass guns and made lubbers walk the plank . . . right?
Wrong. . . . "

Pirates and piracy, buried treasure, and life on the high seas are brought to life in this colorful, appealing book.

Jan Adkin's talent for combining words, illustration, and design is uniquely well-suited to the world of Pirates: ships and seafaring, maps, weapons, larger than life characters and larger than life stories are vividly presented in Jan's signature, design-driven style. This large format, full color picture book presents pirate history and pirate lore, pirate ships and equipment, and pirate life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 4–Adkins begins with a stereotypical picture and description of a pirate, then proceeds to debunk the myths that surround these mysterious figures. Contrary to popular belief, pirates did not command large ships with guns and cannons, but preferred smaller, more nimble vessels so they could take victims by surprise and make a quick escape. Real pirates were as skillful with a needle as they were with a cutlass; most sewed their own clothes and mended sails. Packed with interesting but little-known facts, the text illuminates life on the high seas and answers many questions children may have: Did pirates force captives to walk the plank (no) or bury treasure (rarely)? Do pirates still operate today? Each of these questions and more are answered in spreads that include full-color spot illustrations, diagrams, and cross-sections. Adkins's detailed renderings will be as familiar to fans of his other nonfiction books as his tongue-in-cheek humor, both of which appeal to a broad range of ages. A fun and informative read.–Laurie Edwards, Infinity Charter School, Harrisburg, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 3-5. Can it be that walking the plank was a fictional punishment invented by illustrator Howard Pyle? In this appealing book, Adkins gives readers the lowdown on what life under the pirate flag was really like. After setting up the conventional portrait of swaggering, singing sailors in colorful duds, he replaces it with a more realistic picture of hard-working sailors who "might swashbuckle just a few hours each month" and bathed considerably less. Yet this realistic portrayal of pirates and their activities is even more intriguing than the romanticized version he debunks. Adkins strikes just the right note in the text, always informative and frequently entertaining as well. Bright with color washes, the excellent, energetic drawings show pirates engaged in a variety of activities, from pumping out the bilge to braiding each other's hair to using the open-air bathroom at the front of the ship. In a send-up of current book marketing, the back cover carries appreciative comments by the likes of Queen Elizabeth I and Leonardo da Vinci. Where pirate fever runs high this spirited presentation will find an enthusiastic audience. For more titles, see the Read-alikes, "Ship Ahoy!" [BKL S 1 04]. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press; First Edition edition (June 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596431822
• ISBN-13: 978-1596431829
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.2 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Action & Adventure
  • #21 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > Europe
  • #30 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Europe > General

More About the Author

Jan Adkins was raised in West Virginia and Ohio, around Wheeling. He spent a lot of time wandering the woods around his home with a .22. He was at Ohio State University for many years studying architecture, first, then literature. He worked as a draftsman for one of Eero Saarinen's senior designers, W. Byron Ireland. Married, he moved to his wife's wonderful hometown of Wareham, Massachusetts, which is still home for him. Many of his books are set in New England waters where he sailed up and down the coast with his family.

He has three children: Sally lives with her husband Patrick in Gainesville, Florida, with grandsons Max and Luc; Sam is a chef in DC with his lovely partner Aphra; Web and his Cyn live in Seattle with grandchildren Alder and River.

He moved to Washington, DC, to be an art director for National Geographic Magazine for almost nine years, living in DC and then in Annapolis. He's written for Smithsonian Magazine, Cricket and Muse Magazines, Harper's, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, WoodenBoat, Maine Boats Homes & Harbors and others. He also works on museum exhibits with Eisterhold Associates out of Kansas City.

For several years he taught editorial illustration, history of illustration, and graphic design at Rhode Island School of Design and at Maryland Institute, College of Art. He misses teaching.

He writes books of non-fiction for young people, his special audience. He also writes humor and feature articles for several magazines. He has illustrated for all his books and for dozens of mainstream magazines, especially on marine and technical subjects.

He lives presently in Novato, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he hikes, cooks, sails, skis, plays tennis, and writes every day.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great informational book!, March 23, 2008

By 

Book Mom (New Jersey, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What If You Met A Pirate? (Paperback)

This book provides great information about pirates, their lives, their ships, and their activities. The illustrations are detailed. It can be read to younger children a page or two at a time, but is more likely a book for older elementary students.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arrrr! The gruesome truth about REAL pirates!, December 23, 2007

By 

A reviewer "A reader" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What If You Met A Pirate? (Paperback)

I read this book with my children and we all loved it. Guess what, pirates don't wear those silly hats and they hardly ever had peg legs! The parrots-- yes, they did have parrots. Full of fun and fantastic facts, great for any pirate fans. Wait till you see how they went to the bathroom!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If You Meet The Pirates in This Book, Approach With Caution and Hold Your Nose!, June 6, 2011

By 

Sandra Perkins (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What If You Met A Pirate? (Hardcover)

If you meet the pirates in this book, you'll have to hold your nose. Real pirates rarely bathed. Readers are told to "forget the movies", and they receive an invitation into a sensual and realistic account of pirate life that takes them around the globe and across time. Two full-page illustrations of pirates (complete with labels) offer youngsters a chance to read and study pirate equipment and attire up close. The varieties of the remaining illustrations give a parent and child options for a reading strategy. (The material can be strong in some sections, and a reading strategy is a good idea.) The narrative is an eye opener - pirates never walked the plank, they desired small boats instead of larger vessels, they didn't often kill their prisoners, and they even sometimes dressed up as women in order to fool their victims into thinking they were passengers on a peaceful vessel. Parents should know that children not only learn the many names of pirates (e.g., seadogs, buccaneers, freebooters, and privateers), but they also learn (somewhat vividly)that attacking other ships (and robbing them) is violent work. The treasure in this book is the rich flow of historical information and facts that were once hidden from view by the popularity of the movie interpretation of the pirate. The weakness, however, is the appearance of some strong material that may be a concern for youngsters. If you go for the treasure, navigate your journey with caution.