A fun poem in the Robert Louis Stevenson tradition telling the tale of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Reade. There aren't enough "serious" pirate picture books out there! But this one could have benefited from a couple of verses about the women's daring exploits as pirates before their downfall and a picture of them fighting in action, instead of just getting captured.

Some parents might find awkward questions about how both Anne and Mary are pregnant at the end, with no mentions of fathers. Bet I'm going to see some negative reviews to that effect! ( )

This richly illustrated tale of two women pirates who were captured only because the rest of the male crew were playing cards and drinking is definitely for older kids. But it is a great spooky story, and the fact that it is true makes it a good candidate for early American history lessons. ( )

This lyrical poem filled our bedtime with the rhythm of another time. History came alive and intrigued both my kids. Glad for the historic fact end notes that helped round out this story. My son is starting to recognize Jane Yolen and love her as much as I do! ( )

I thought this was great book for several reasons. One reason I liked this book was for the illustrations. Almost every page has a beautiful painting which really helps the book to come to life. From the pirate vessel "Vanity", to Calico Jack Rackham, there is a great selection of vivid pictures to look at as you read. The book also really pushes readers to think about one tough issue in particular, which is sentencing a female pirate who is pregnant. This is a great moral question to make young readers think. The main characters are pirates who get caught by the Governor, so I would say the big idea of this book is morality and punishment, or good and evil. ( )

The reoccurring verse and the lyrical style are both very well done, though I was hung up on the meter a few times while reading this and had to reread a line to make it fit. It was a nice telling of the story of Mary Reade and Anne Bonney and did Calico Jack the appropriate disservice a scalawag such as him deserved. This is not at all the style I've grown used to seeing from David Shannon though. It was far more detailed and dark than other work he's done, particularly the pirate series he did. Impressive book. ( )