It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, ye landlubbers!

It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, ye landlubbers!

Aye, me hardies, it be that day again: International Talk Like a Pirate Day! So raise your inner pirate from Davy Jone’s locker and celebrate with these swashbucklers and fiends…or ye’ll be walking the plank.


Pirattitude!: so you wanna be a Pirate? Here’s how! By John Baur and Mark Summers. Introduction by Dave Berry

ISBN: 0451216490 Price: $ 12.95

That’s right, ye swabbies, the Pirates behind International Talk Like a Pirate day have written down their tale fer yer edification. Learn to raise the main sail, walk the plank, swash your buckle and comport yourself in all pirate-type ways. (Special bonus: learn to actually talk like pirate for more than three words unlike the author of this post.)

About the Author:
John "Ol' Chumbucket" Baur and Mark "Cap'n Slappy" Summers came up with the idea for Talk Like a Pirate Day during an ill-fated game of racquetball way back in 1995, making it the first holiday that ever originated as a sports injury. They adamantly deny that there was any grog-swilling involved, though they both admit to swilling more than their fair share of grog at other times.

Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe

ISBN: 0375423214 Price: $15.95

Satirical. Pirate. Fiction. ‘Nuff said.

What? You didn’t know it existed? Who said ignorance was bliss because you are obviously missing out. Pirates! Is a book beloved by everyone in my store. It’s been passed around almost as much as Lamb (which would make since because they share the same bit of silly, Python-esque humor).

About the Author:
Gideon Defoe, who lives in London, is twenty-eight. He wrote The Pirates! to convince a woman to leave her boyfriend for him. She didn't.

I say:

Really, how can you not fall in love with a book written to get some woman to leave her boyfriend…it would have worked on me. Not to mention all the science humor, ham, and the holy ghost make for one amusing as hell tale. Look for Pirates! In an Adventure with Ahab coming soon.

Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly

ISBN: 0156005492 Price: $14.00

Get your history on with this exploration of pirates and our perceptions (with actual examples). Was Blackbeard truly a nasty, nasty man? And what about that Captain Cooke? Cordingly answers all in an easy to read format.


The Pirate Coast: Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805 by Richard Zacks

ISBN: 1401300030 Price: $ 25.95

Political intrigue, pirates, presidential shenanigans and covert operations: what more could a girl ask for? An interesting (and entertaining) look at a small piece of history that might must be one of those things that make you go “hmmm.”


Books for the pirate kiddies:


Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady (Bloody Jack Adventures) by Louis A. Meyer

ISBN: 0152051155 Price: (now in paperback)

A follow up to Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship’s Boy, Jack(y) is once again battling the high tides of…private school? Say it ain’t so? Who would want to reform a pirate? The term scrappy is totally appropriate for this fun, tough character.

How I became a Pirate by Melinda Long. Illustrations by David Shannon.

ISBN: 0152018484 Price: $16.00

A boy runs off with pirates to help them bury their treasure, David Shannon’s bug-eyed drawing ensue.

How to Be a Pirate by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Translated by Cressida Cowell

ISBN: 0316155985 Price: $ 10.99

From the woman who brought us—I mean, translated—How to Train Your Dragon comes the further adventures of the son of Stoick the Vast of the Harry Hooligan Viking Tribe (Hey, I know some Hairy Hooligans). Fun for little boys and girls alike.

Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke and Kerstin Meyer. Illustrations by Chantal Wright

ISBN: 0439716721 Price: $15.95

Whether you view this as dose of little girl power or an example that girls can be bullies too (as the contrasting reviews by Booklist and Library Journal alternatively suggest), you’ll definitely get your dose of girl Pirattitude!