The Scholastic Handbook of Pirates Book

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Pirates are a hot commodity these days (can you say Jack Sparrow??). In this need-to-know generation, author Terry Deary has brought us THE HANDBOOK OF PIRATES, an easy-to-use, highly entertaining reference guide to all things pirates.

There are several categories included:

Lousy Legends and Lies
Nasty Names
Top Ten Putrid Pirates
Perilous Pirate Timeline
Lousy Loot
Wicked Weapons
Terrible Tactics
Wicked Women Pirates
Cutthroat Cruelties
Rotten Rules
Pirate Ships
Pirate Losers
Talk Like a Pirate
Fly the Flags
Foul Facts
Pirate Punishments
Dire Deaths

I truly enjoyed the history behind the book's Top Ten Pirates, and found the Wicked Women Pirates section to be just as well-researched. I also learned a thing or two -- that many pirates did, indeed, own parrots, and that "walking the plank" is most likely a myth (pirates found it much easier to chop you up and feed you to the sharks - why waste time slowing down so you could walk the plank?).

THE HANDBOOK OF PIRATES also includes laugh-out-loud full-color illustrations and small comic strips, although some of them wouldn't be appropriate for children in elementary school. Overall, this is a great book for pirate lovers, and one that would should be included in your pirate library.