Picture books
Baker, Roberta. Olive’s Pirate Party. Olive worries that having her seventh-birthday pirate party at her Aunt Tiffany’s house will be a disappointment.
Bently, Peter. Captain Jack and the Pirates. When brave mariners Jack, Zack, and Caspar build a galleon then set off on an imaginary adventure at sea, they face pirates, a storm, and a shipwreck.
Bunting, Eve. Pirate Boy. As Colin imagines himself in a series of adventures beginning with joining a pirate crew, his mother assures him that she will always be there to help if he needs her.
Demas, Corinne. Are Pirates Polite? In rhyming text, this story demonstrates that even pirates can be polite, and say “please” and “thank you.
Duddle, Jonny. The Pirate Cruncher. A mysterious old pirate lures a group of rowdy sailors to an island with buried treasure, but there is a surprise awaiting them when they get there.
Faulkner, Matt. The Pirate Meets the Queen. When the son of notorious Irish pirate queen Granny O’Malley is captured by the English, Granny tries to meet with Queen Elizabeth I to negotiate for his freedom.
Funke, Cornelia Caroline. Pirate Girl. Ferocious Captain Firebeard thinks that he and his band of ruthless pirates rule the high seas. But Firebeard’s crew meet their match when they kidnap a girl named Molly.
Helquist, Brett. Roger, the Jolly Pirate. Roger was a lousy pirate because he knew very little about ships and never struck fear in the heart of any sailor, until one day when his shipmates were in grave danger while he was below decks baking a cake.
Kargman, Jill. Pirates & Princesses. Ivy and Fletch have been best friends since they were born but now, at age five, the boys in their kindergarten play Pirates at recess while the girls play Princesses, and the duo is split apart.
Leuck, Laura. I Love My Pirate Papa. A pirate’s son shares the things he loves about his father, including climbing the mast together to yell “Land ho” and sharing the booty when they find buried treasure.
Long, Melinda. How I Became a Pirate. Jeremy Jacob joins Braid Beard and his pirate crew and finds out about pirate language, pirate manners, and other aspects of their life.
Long, Melinda. Pirates Don’t Change Diapers. Braid Beard and his pirate crew return to retrieve the treasure they buried in Jeremy Jacob’s backyard, but first they must help calm his baby sister, Bonney Anne, whom they awoke from her nap.
Murray, Diana. Ned the Knitting Pirate. Ned is a pirate whose fondness for knitting annoys his captain – until one of Ned’s knitted blankets saves the ship from a sea monster.
Peet, Mal. The Treasure of Pirate Frank. A boy and his dog set sail in search of treasure, braving stormy seas, snowy mountains, and other challenging obstacles, before finally reaching the end of their quest for the treasure of Pirate Frank.
Prince, April Jones. Goldenlocks and the Three Pirates. While pirates Papa, Mama, and Baby are away from their seaworthy sloop, Goldenlocks comes aboard and makes herself useful.
Rex, Michael. You Can Do Anything, Daddy. After receiving assurances that his father would save him from increasingly dangerous and scary pirates, a boy reassures his father in return.
Rosenthal, Mark. Archie and the Pirates. When Archie the monkey finds himself on a strange island, he makes a multitude of new friends who help him defend their home from intruding pirates.
Smith, Danna. Pirate Nap: A Book of Colors. Two brothers use their imaginations to turn their surroundings – from a white bandana and yellow coins to a red blanket and even their baby sister, into a colorful pirate adventure before naptime.
Sobel, June. Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC. Having decided that R is not enough for them, a bumbling band of pirates sets sail on a quest to capture the rest of the alphabet.
Soman, David. The Amazing Adventures of Bumblebee Boy. As imaginary superhero Bumblebee Boy, Sam rejects his pesky little brother’s help in defeating pirates, dragons, and saber-toothed lions, but when Sam comes up against some scary aliens, he discovers the advantage of having a sidekick.
Sturges, Philemon. This Little Pirate. Two bands of pirates fight over a box, but when they raise the white flag and open the box together, they find a treasure to share.
Teague, Mark. The Pirate Jamboree. Pirates Blackbeard Johnson and his brothers, Eye-patch Sue, and others sail over to Peg Leg Jones’ for a happily chaotic pirate jamboree–until the S.S. Clean Your Room (otherwise known as Mrs. Jones) arrives and playtime is definitely over.
Winters, Kari-Lynn. Best Pirate. When Augusta the dog pirate accidentally destroys a treasure map and injures her first mate, she sets out for Crossbones Island without any guidance and must face the Tuna Lubbers’ crew of pirate cats that is also searching for treasure.
Illustrated Literature
Harrison, David L. Pirates. In 20 poems, this book tells the true stories of what a pirate’s life was really like.
Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta. The Pirate Princess. Tired of the royal life, Princess Bea boards a pirate ship and sets out for adventure on the high seas but soon finds she is not good at swabbing decks, cooking in the galley, or keeping watch from the crow’s nest.
Kimmel, Eric A. Blackbeard’s Last Fight. In 1718, off the coast of North Carolina, a young cabin boy assists in the final capture and execution of Blackbeard the pirate.
Winstanley, Nicola. The Pirate’s Bed. Separated from the smelly feet and scratchy wool of a pirate’s ship by a great storm, a ship’s bed floats in the water, making friends with gulls and dolphins and basking in the sun before realizing that something is missing.
Beginning Readers
Cannon, A.E. Let the Good Times Roll with Pirate Pete. Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe visit the Pirate Queen and have fun playing games and going to Disco Dan’s House of Pins until it is bedtime and the Pirate Queen becomes just their mother once again.
Delacre, Lulu. Rafi and Rosi: Pirates! Rafi and Rosi, two curious tree frogs, explore Puerto Rico’s El Morro Fort, where they pretend to be pirates in battle, find pirate treasure, and discover a haunted sentry box.
Kann, Victoria. Pinkalicious and the Pirates. When Pinkalicious and Peter go to the hidden cove to meet their friend Aqua, a mini-mermaid, they see pirates instead.
Laurence, Daniel. Captain and Matey Set Sail. Despite their frequent disagreements, two pirates share many adventures.
Lock, Deborah. Pirate Attack! Provides an overview of pirates, describing how they lived, the ships they lived on, and the weapons they used.
Scarry, Richard. Pie Rats Ahoy! Uncle Willy uses a clever disguise to save his boat from a gang of pirates and make Busytown Bay safe again.
Fiction
Bailey, Linda. Seven Dead Pirates. When painfully shy Lewis and his family move into his great-grandfather’s dilapidated seaside mansion, he discovers he’s sharing his room with seven rowdy pirate ghosts, who expect Lewis to help them retake their ship, now stored in a local museum.
Bondor-Stone, Annabeth. The Pirate Who’s Afraid of Everything.Shivers, the pirate who’s afraid of everything, battles a giant squid, discovers hidden treasures, and gets pooped on by a pigeon to save his parents from the clutches of evil.
Funke, Cornelia Caroline. The Pirate Pig. On Butterfly Island, sailor Stout Sam and his deckhand Pip must rescue their treasure-sniffing pig from nasty pirate Barracuda Bill.
Kidd, Rob. The Coming Storm. (Series) Teenage stowaway Jack Sparrow and his band of hoodlums are on a mission to find the legendary Sword of Cortes which will grant them unimaginable power, but first they have to survive the power of the sea, vicious pirates, and ancient curses. (JPB Kid)
LaReau, Kara. The Jolly Regina. Meet Jaundice and Kale Bland, two sisters who avoid excitement at any cost. One day, the Bland sisters are kidnapped by an all-female band of pirates. They’re unwillingly swept into a high-seas romp that might just lead to solving the mystery of what happened to their missing parents.
Mabbitt, Will. The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones. Mabel Jones finds herself aboard the Feroshus Maggot – a ship crewed by the strangest bunch of pirates you’d (never) want to meet. She then has to find pieces of an X-shaped puzzle that in her hands could be her ticket home, but in the hands of Captain Split, they’d give him the power to assemble a pirate militia to take over London!
Meisel, Peter. Stinky Spike the Pirate Dog. When Spike finds himself adrift at sea he is rescued by a crew of surly pirates, who spend their days hunting for treasure. Spike knows that he was meant to sniff out treasure, but his sense of smell leads him to some unusual treasure.
Pryor, Bonnie. Captain Hannah Pritchard: The Hunt for Pirate Gold. Still disguised as a boy, now-seventeen-year-old Hannah Pritchard and her crew aboard the ship Hannah carry out missions for the Continental navy while searching for lost pirate treasure and trying to evade an evil pirate captain.
Schulz, Heidi. The Pirate Code. Fresh off her victory over the Neverland crocodile, Jocelyn Hook and her pirate crew hunt for Captain Hook’s hidden treasure.
Schulz, Heidi. Hook’s Revenge. Captain Hook’s swashbuckling daughter must avenge her infamous father’s death at the jaws of the Neverland crocodile.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads them to a pirate’s fortune.
Non-Fiction
Non-fiction books about pirates are located in the J 910.45 section.