The Ballad of the Pirate Queens

I love the poem in this book, and I love the illustrations. Yolen frequently writes about strong women characters, and in this case, it's female pirates. Not an idealized view, either, but tough women who hold their own with the men.

The story is told in rhyme, and focuses on when the government ship Albion tracks down famous pirate ship Vanity. The only pirates on duty are Anne Bonny and Mary Reade - all the male pirates are too drunk to fight. Outnumbered, the women fight hard, but are eventually taken. However, in court, when all the men are sentenced to death, Anne and Mary use their wits to save themselves.

Yolen manages the rhyme scheme very well, with a repeating refrain that is haunting and beautiful. She is a master with words. show more I am always moved by strong imagery and great use of literary devices, and and Yolen is one of my favorite children's authors because she delivers in both areas. Her works are extremely diverse but her powerful language stays true in most of them. The story she tells here is particularly wonderful because she captures the romance of the high seas and the sea battle, but also shows women who are real, who are the fighters and thinkers and not just figure heads. Shannon's lovely illustration complement the story. Every time I look at this picture book, I am filled with the urge to share it or read it out loud, it is so evocative of the mystery of pirates and the sea and women. show less

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!

Jane Yolen always manages to find different illustrators for her wonderful books. She remains one of my favorite authors, of both illustrated and non-illustrated books.

In this illustrated book, she tells the tale of two true to life women pirates, Anne Bonney and Mary Reade. Told in ballad form, while the male pirates were down below playing games, Anne and Mary fought above in the ship called Vanity. When the vanity was captured by captain Jonathan Barnet's man-of-war-Albion , the women fought.

Captured, Anne visited her husband Rackham. Admonishing him for not "fighting like a man," she told him he should be hanged like a dog.

The Vanity was a ship that sailed along the coasts of America in the 1700's. Anne and Mary were the most famous show more female pirates. When captured, they pled they should live because of "their bellies!" They were indeed pregnant. History is nebulous in stating Mary died in prison and Anne's father may have go her off free. Others say that history shows both survived, married and raised more children. show less

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.

Yolen retells the story of Anne Bonney and Mary Reade, two female pirates aboard the Vanity. While they were arrested and sentenced to death, they escaped their sentence by claiming they were with child. RESPONSE: I love pirates, I love strong women, and I love this book because it combines the two. The artwork is great, and the "ballad" actually feels musical. As I read it I started singing it because it works so well. THEMES/CONCEPTS: feminism, pirates, historical women

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.

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.