Grade 1–3—Accurate information about historical pirates is often intermixed with popular myths about buried treasure and walking the plank. While the color photographs and illustrations in this book support all of the usual stereotypes, the text at least implies that some of the legends were simply great stories. A brief overview of the differences among buccaneers, privateers, and Vikings (some might object to the inclusion of the latter group) provides a good introduction, but on the whole, the text reads as if it were designed to appeal to children about to embark on a pirate amusement-park ride. A small section on female pirates mentions Anne Bonny and Mary Read, but not Grace O'Malley.—Farida S. Dowler, Mercer Island Library, WA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
