The Illinois School Library Media Association Presents

How I Became A Pirate

Read About the Book

Long, Melinda. How I Became a Pirate; Illus. by David Shannon. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, 2003.

Jeremy Jacob joins Braid Beard and his pirate crew and finds out about pirate language, pirate manners, and other aspects of their life.

1 v. (unpaged): col. ill. ; 28 cm. ISBN: 0152018484; LCCN: 2002-6308. Picture Book; Dewey: [E] / RL: 4.2 (Follett), 3.1 (AR).

Read Aloud, Read Along

For Teachers and Librarians

McPhail, David. Edward and the Pirates. Little Brown, 1997. RL 4.8

"When Edward, an avid reader with a vivid imagination, brings home a library book called Lost Pirate Treasure, a group of pirates seeking their lost riches visits him in the night. Although they beg and threaten, Edward refuses to hand over the book but offers to read it to them after learning that they don't know how. The acrylic art, rendered in a painterly style with a dark palette, and the easy text emphasize that reading is an adventure." From: Booklist. Sept, 1997.

Lessons and Websites

Pirates and Privateers: The History of Maritime Piracy. Includes reviews of children's books on pirates.
Multiple reviews of How I Became A Pirate
A Pirate's Life - Lesson Plans in Geography - K-2
Pirate Map - Lesson Plans in Geography - 3-5
Pirates - Websites for Schools

Read About the Author & Illustrator

Interview with Melinda Long and David Shannon

AUTHOR

Melinda Long is a teacher and the author of several other books for children. She lives in Greenville, North Carolina. Photograph from Harcourt Trade Publishers Website for educational purposes only.

ILLUSTRATOR

Photograph from Harcourt Trade Publishers Website for educational purposes only.

David Shannon has written and illustrated another book on the Monarch list: David Gets in Trouble.

How I Became a Pirate was named Best Illustrated Book of the Year (2003) by the American Booksellers Association.

David Shannon

n (Click here to Read a Biographical Sketch on David Shannon from the Children's Book Council)

Read Alone

For Students - More Pirates

Fox, Mem. Tough Boris; illus. by Kathryn Brown. Harcourt Brace, 1998. RL 2.2

Boris the Pirate is as tough as they come. But when his pet parrot dies, he cries like anyone else.

Kvasnosky, Laura McGee. Zelda and Ivy and the Boy Next Door; illus. by the author. Candlewick Press, 2003. RL 1.3

In three brief stories, two fox sisters meet the boy next door, play pirates, and camp out in the yard in sleeping bags.