Review by Booklist Review
Much has been discovered about female pirates since Yolen wrote her first book on the subject, Pirates in Petticoats, in 1963. This new volume builds on those revelations in 12 portraits of sword-swinging, seafaring women throughout history, from Artemisia, in 500 B.C.E. Persia, to Madame Ching, an early nineteenth-century Chinese woman and named here as the most successful pirate in the world. A long bibliography is appended, but there are no chapter notes to separate fact from folklore, and Yolen's conclusion further moves her subjects into the territory of legend: There is so much storytelling, exaggeration, and just plain lying about the pirating trade that it's hard to say with absolute certainty that all the women pirates on these pages are real. The lack of in-text documentation is a disappointment, and although the scratchboard illustrations work well as portraits, the unlabeled maps fall flat. Still, the book is filled with fascinating, dramatically told stories and sidebars, and this could serve as good starting point for further research, as well as discussions about historical accuracy and bias.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Most of what is known about the earliest "sea queens" is the stuff of story and legends. Yolen carefully notes what has been documented and what may be exaggeration throughout these brief biographies. An introductory chapter clears up some common misconceptions about pirates and pirating. Using recent scholarship on the subject, this collection crosses the oceans to include both familiar and unfamiliar names. Beginning with Artemisia in the 5th century BC and ending with Madame Ching in the 19th century, the profiles include Queen Teuta, Alfhild, Grania O'Malley, Charlotte de Berry, Lady Killigrew, Pretty Peg, Anne Bonney, Mary Read, Rachel Wall, and Mary Anne Talbot. Alternate spellings are listed, and sidebars provide supplementary and high-interest information. A gold-embossed binding and black-and-white scratchboard illustrations give a period feel to this handsome volume. Women pirates about whom there is a lack of adequate information for inclusion are mentioned.-Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Piracy wasn't pretty, but sometimes it was sanctioned. It was always bloody and sometimes lucrative. Yolen tells the tales of 13 female pirates, from Persia to China, from 500 years before the Common Era to the 19th century. Not only does she tell them vividly, she also strives to untangle fact from fiction, history from legend, highlighting the telling details that will draw kids in. Alfhild of Denmark, for instance, kept a pet viper to ward off would-be suitors. Jeanne the Lioness of Brittany sold her castles and lands, outfitted three ships and attacked French vessels along the coast of Normandy to avenge her murdered husband. Rachel Wall was the last woman to be hanged on Boston Common, in 1789. A concluding "Roundup" includes a list of women pirates about whom only a few sentences are known. This volume is very prettily produced, with Pratt's gorgeous pen-and-ink-on-scratchboard illustrations and tailpieces. Sidebars with further tidbits, definitions, legends and historical records embellish the pages. Young pirate princesses (and princes) will be dazzled. (bibliography, websites, index) (Nonfiction. 9-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
