Brew, Jim Pirates

Brew, Jim   Pirates     Scholastic/ Childrens Press   24p   $21.95     

978-0-531-20781-9       elem        Series: History's Greatest Warriors (Scholastic/Childrens)        Average          

This short nonfiction selection presents basic information about pirates.  Included are a brief description of pirate ships and a history of piracy.

     

There are three positive and two negative sides to this book.  On the positive side, the pictures are lively and interesting, and the glossary is a nice feature that supports younger readers.  In addition, the writer has not "dumbed down" his vocabulary; the words he has chosen are authentic terms, useful for vocabulary acquisition.  On the other hand, a negative feature is that the sentences describing pirates and their job are overly simple, making the book suitable only for younger elementary-school children.  But even more important on the negative side, the book is just not that interesting. 

Children want exciting stories about pirates, not a how-to book that describes their equipment and their ships.  The author’s purpose is only to present the basics, and if the classroom teacher hopes to introduce the topic to his/her class, then the book is acceptable.  However, if the teacher hopes to inspire literacy, this book misses the boat. 

At the end, there is a glossary and a list of resources, followed by a short index.  All in all, this book does not meet expectations as one in the series History’s Greatest Warriors, which includes books about many of the world’s famous "tough guys".  Aztecs, Comanches, Mongols, Samurai and Spartans are just a few of the topics in the series.  Each book presents basics about the history of each group, the materials they used to accomplish the job, and the targets of their wrath.  -- Martha Squaresky