The REAL Story of Pirates: Fun Facts, Tall Tales, and Awesome Activities

The REAL Story of Pirates - Fun Facts, Tall Tales, and Awesome Activities offers fascinating information about life at sea during the "golden age of pirating" as well as brief profiles of famous pirates of the past.  There are over 40 illustrations, (most of which are meant to be colored), and descriptions of navigation devices, tools, and weapons used by pirates.

You’ll learn other interesting facts, too. Every year, on September 19th, many people today participate in "International Talk Like a Pirate Day." Did you know that real pirates didn't really say things like “Argh!” and “Matey,” and “Walk the Plank?”  This pretend-style of "pirate talk," which is often heard in films and on TV, is actually based upon the fictional character "Long John Silver," as portrayed in the Disney movie Treasure Island by actor Robert Newton.

Did you know, too, that General George Washington's military commanders were able to defeat the powerful 18th century British Navy (the young American Colonies had only 31 converted ships to call their own) with of the help of privateers, whose numbers included freed slaves? Privateers were sailors who became pirates for hire. 

Did you also know that many common phrases heard today came from the classic age of pirates and seafaring?  For example, the phrase “pipe down” now means to be quiet; aboard a ship, the expression originally referred to the last signal of the day coming from a "bosun’s pipe" (or whistle), which indicated it was time to go to sleep. Many other such common words and phrases are explained in these pages. 

Facts and stories like these (in addition to fun coloring pages, a true or false quiz, an elaborate treasure maze, and a challenging word search puzzle) are included in the book, PLUS information on hosting your own pirate party! 

There are suggestions for reading the book and discussing pirates with younger children, too. The publisher provides permission to make limited copies (for personal use, only) of the book’s coloring pages so your child's finished work of art can be mounted in a frame or on the fridge, without having to tear it from the book. 

Addendum: The current printing is the fourth (and updated) edition of The Real Story of Pirates; it contains corrections and newly discovered information not available in the previous versions. See a recent professional review of the book here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40079989-the-real-story-of-pirates. Please note, the review cited was for the book's third edition, and does not reflect the updated corrections now in the book.