Pirates

Pirates are a frequent topic in fiction and are associated with certain stereotypical manners of speaking and dress, some of them wholly fictional. Some inventions of pirate culture such as "walking the plank" were popularized by J. M. Barrie's novel, Peter Pan, where Captain Hook's pirates helped define the fictional pirate archetype. Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver in Disney's 1950 film adaptation of Treasure Island also helped define the modern rendition of a pirate. The recent Pirates of the Caribbean films have helped kindle modern interest in piracy and have succeeded quite handsomely in box office grosses.

The classic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance focuses on the Pirate King and his hopeless band of pirates on the South coast of England. The Pirate King is often believed to be inspiration for Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp's character in Pirates of the Caribbean). Various variants on the pirate idea exist, notably "space pirates" in science fiction, such as the TV series "Firefly," that imagine future space shipping subject to similar pressures as shipping in the Age of Exploration. Pirates are also common mascots and names of sports teams.

While pirates are generally terrible people, folklore has romanticized them (as with other similar figures drawing on the "bad man with a heart of gold" theme). Some pirates are even portrayed in a Robin Hood-type manner, which is not as far-fetched as it may sound since he was basically a land pirate. We don't know whether pirates would beat ninjas in a battle (ninjas are pretty cool, too), but the thought of a bunch of wild dandies sailing the lonely seas in search of adventure and gold is pretty intriguing.

 

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100 Things You Should Know About Pirates
by Andrew Langley
from Miles Kelly Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Pirates (Location: HISV-PIRATE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Barbary Pirates
Sterling Point Books
by C. S. Forester
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Naval History for 5th-8th grade
in Pirates (Location: HISV-PIRATE)
Barbary Pirates
Landmark #31
by C. S. Forester
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Barefoot Book of Pirates
by Richard Walker
from Barefoot Books
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Black Buccaneer
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Stephen W. Meader
from Dover Publications
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Blackbeard and Other Notorious Pirates - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter Copeland
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in History of the World Coloring Books (Location: COL-HISW)
$3.99
Blackthorn Winter
Monroe Family Chronicles #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
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$15.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Blackthorn Winter
Veritas Maritime Series #1
by Doug Wilson
from Veritas Press
Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Pirates
by Howard Pyle
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts
by Frank R. Stockton
from Looking Glass Library
in Pirates (Location: HISV-PIRATE)
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Curse of Carne's Hold
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
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Curse of Carne's Hold
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Dark Frigate
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Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes
Dover 2018 from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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$7.99
Edward and the Pirates
by David McPhail
from Little, Brown & Company
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Famous Pirates of the New World
World Landmark #35
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by Ronald Syme
from William Morrow & Company
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Great Pirate Stories
by Joseph L. French
2nd Printing, 1923 from Brentano's Publishers
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History of Pirates
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History of Pirates
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by Melinda Long
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$16.00
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from Robinson Curriculum
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In the Hands of the Malays
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Innocent Voyage
by Richard Hughes, illustrated by Lynd Ward
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$7.00 (2 in stock)
Ireland's Pirate Queen
by Anne Chambers
from MJF Books
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
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by Natalie Babbitt
First Edition (first thus) from MDC Books
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Kidnapped
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Animal Adventure for 2nd-4th grade
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Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd
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Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd
Landmark #122
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Peter Pan
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Peter Pan in Scarlet
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Pirate City
by R. M. Ballantyne
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Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
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Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter
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by John Green
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by Clyde Robert Bulla, illustrated by Peter Burchard
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by Geraldine McCaughrean
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Pirates and Buccaneers - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
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Pirates and Privateers
by Edith S. McCall
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Pirates of the Spanish Main
by Hamilton Cochran
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
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Pirates Own Book
by Charles Ellms
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by Phyllis R. Fenner (editor), illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
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by Madeleine Polland, illustrated by Herbert Danska
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Real Book About Pirates
by Samuel Epstein & Beryl Williams
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Roving Commission
by G. A. Henty
from Robinson Curriculum
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Roving Commission
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from Superior Publishing Company
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Library of Explorers and Exploration
by Joy Paige
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Story of Stephen Decatur
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #29
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Graham Kaye
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
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Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
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by Howard Pyle
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Time Travelers: New World Explorers - CD-ROM
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Tough Boris
by Mem Fox
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Treasure Hunters: TheSearch for Gold
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Treasure Island
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
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Treasure Island
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price
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Treasure Island
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Treasure Island
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Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Henry C. Pitz
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
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Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Edmund Dulac
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Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Igor Iljinski
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Treasure Island
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
Deluxe from Atheneum
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$24.99
Treasure Island
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-10th grade
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Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Louis Rhead
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$9.95
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by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Lawrence
from Candlewick Press
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Treasure Island
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price
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Treasure Island
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Treasure Island
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by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
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Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
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Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated with stills from 1934 MGM film
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Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
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by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Falter
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Treasure Island
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by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price
from Grosset & Dunlap
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Treasure Island
Windermere Readers #16
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
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Treasure Island
Windermere Series 1
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
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Treasure Island
Windermere Series 2
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1921 printing from Rand McNally
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by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1924 Printing from Rand McNally
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Treasure Island
Windermere Series 4
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1939 Edition from Rand McNally
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Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Living Book Press
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Treasure Island
Usborne Illustrated Originals
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Fran Parreno
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Treasure Island - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Coloring Book for 2nd-6th grade
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Monroe Family Chronicles #3
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Nautical fiction for 4th-6th grade
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$15.00