The Barefoot Book of Pirates
retold by Richard Walker
illustrations by Olywyn Whelan
Barefoot Books, 1998, ISBN 1-84148-886-0, $9.99

These seven folktales are devoted to pirates from Scandinavia, England, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, and Morocco. They involve magic, adventure, good and bad pirates, cleverness, and danger. “The Captain’s Goose” makes a pirate captain a king. Robin Hood rescues fishermen from pirates, instead of peasants, from the Sheriff of Nottingham in “Robin Hood and the Pirates.” An unseen visitor befriends a cabin boy in “The Kobold and the Pirates.” “Pirate Grace” relates what happens when a lord dares to snub the pirate queen. A fiddler escapes from pirates in “Music Charms the Pirates.” Stolen bells reveal the pirates’ location in “The Abbey Bells.” “The Ship of Bones” recounts how pirates rescue stranded passengers after their boat sinks.

Anyone seeking different stories to share with their children should consider this entertaining collection of pirate folktales. They’re excellent for storytelling in front of audiences of all ages. Whelan’s drawings complement the stories and bring them to life.

Review Copyright ©2004 Cindy Vallar

The Big Book of Pirates
by Joan and Albert Vinyoli
Sterling, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4027-8056-1, US $12.95 / CAN $14.95

Originally published in Spain, this translation is a collection of eleven abridged pirate stories and two poems adapted for pirate apprentices. It contains authors well known to English-speaking audiences – Lord Byron, Joseph Conrad, Howard Pyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Daniel Defoe – as well as several authors from other parts of the word – José de Espronceda, Emilio Salgari, and Soledad Acosta de Samper – and two less familiar authors, William Hope Hodgson of England and W. Clark Russell of the United States. The tales included are: 

“The Corsair”
“La Cancion del Pirata” (The Song of the Pirate)
The Rover
The Black Corsair
The Queen of the Caribbean
The Vengeance of a Helmsman
Blackbeard
The Blighting of Sharkey
The Ghost Pirates
Captain Singleton
Pirates of the Spanish Caribbean
Captain Scarfield
The Frozen Pirate

The book also includes a glossary of ship terms, types of boats, and crew; a gallery of pirates; and author biographies.

The cover incorporates a cut-out in the image of a treasure chest viewed from the side that exposes the first of Xosé Tomás’s dark and brooding illustrations. These add an element of realism to the stories. A few of the tales lack the excitement one may expect, but the uniqueness of the collection allows readers to overlook this and savor the yarns, many of which are rarely found in collections for English-speaking pirates. My favorites, which include unexpected twists, are Conrad’s The Rover, Salgari’s The Black Corsair, Doyle’s The Blighting of Sharkey, and Pyle’s Captain Scarfield. Do you dare to step inside?

Review Copyright ©2011 Cindy Vallar

Jack Plank Tells Tales
by Natalie Babbitt
Scholastic, 2007, ISBN 978-0-545-00496-1, US $15.95 / CAN $19.95

Jack Plank is an out-of-work pirate, not because he is a bad plunderer, but because times are hard and no matter how fond his mates are of him, there is only so much soup to go around. Since he lacks the knack to acquire booty, they have to let him go. He soon finds himself in Saltwash, a small seaport, and Mrs. Delfresno agrees to let him rent a room at her establishment as long as her other boarders get along with him and he finds a job.

During the day, Nina (Mrs. Delfresno’s daughter) helps Jack look for work. At night, everyone gathers around the supper table to eat and discuss the day’s events. Needless to say, one topic of conversation is whether or not Jack has found a job. He would become a farmer, but that requires him to cross a bridge, which he can’t do. When asked why, Jack tells the tale of his friend Lugger who does just that and is accosted by a troll! On successive nights he explains why he can’t be a baker, a fortune teller, a fisherman, a barber, a goldsmith, an actor, or a musician. Eventually, he runs out of possible jobs and knows he must leave. But Nina, her mother, and the others have an idea.

Jack Plank Tells Tales reminds me of those books my sisters and I used to read in the summertime. We’d climb into our bunk beds at the cabin, Mom turned off the lights, and we took turns reading aloud by flashlight from a tome filled with adventures that captured our imaginations and brought wonderful adventures to our dreams. There aren’t any rousing sword fights or intricate puzzles to solve. Rather this children’s book spins a subtle web that snares the reader with strange and fantastic tales. Jack’s reasons for not doing a job are sound, but far different from what you expect. By the time you’ve read one or two chapters, you find yourself wishing the day would pass quicker so you can return to this delightful treasure of stories that whisk you to a simpler time near the sea where magic things happen and problems are easily solved.

Review Copyright ©2007 Cindy Vallar