LIVES OF THE PIRATES Swashbucklers, Scoundrels (Neighbors Beware!)

Krull continues her Lives Of series (LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS, LIVES OF THE WRITERS, LIVES OF THE ATHLETES) with the group kids love best: those dirty, dastardly, devilish pirates. Ray Childs takes all the male parts, and Kymberly Dakin handles a healthy contingent of female swashbucklers, including Madame Chung, Lady Mary Killigrew, and Grace O'Malley. There's a tongue-in-cheek tone to each entry, although the book is rich in facts, details, and intriguing speculation, such as which famous male pirate might actually have been a woman. Nineteen profiles—from the real-life Blackbeard to the fictional Long John Silver—make up this crew. The two narrators sail through the short biographies with grace and wit, letting listeners know that today's pirates are ocean-going thugs—and that people felt the same way in days of yore. M.M.C. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2010]