Here are 85 books that It's Not a School Bus, It's a Pirate Ship fans have personally recommended if you like
It's Not a School Bus, It's a Pirate Ship.
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I’m the author of funny-bone tickling and heartwarming picture books, Halloween Hustle and Prince and Pirate. My newest book, Dream Submarine, is a lyrical bedtime story that blends fiction and nonfiction and invites young readers on a journey through the world's oceans (Candlewick, 2024). Language Arts teacher turned writer, I'm passionate about literacy and love visiting schools and libraries to connect with my favorite people—kids! My books and all the perfectly piratey tales on this list are best when read aloud!
I adore this piratey parody of "The Boy Who
Cried Wolf."As a parent and former teacher, I’ve had the privilege of
reading to kids for decades. This picture book is ideal for a giggly good
storytime. I especially appreciate how the refrain “The pirates are coming!
Quick! Everybody hide!” builds suspense (and silliness!) and creates lots of
opportunities for kids to make predictions about what sort of ship is actually
out on the horizon. Clever and comedic illustrations amp up the fun.
A hilarious retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with not one but TWO twists!
Tom has a VERY important job; every day he climbs to the top of the hill and watches for pirate ships. But when he rings his bell and shouts "PIRATES!" a few too many times - and there's NO pirate ship - the villagers begin to get tired of hiding. So what will happen when the pirates really do show up?
Repeated phrases make it easy and fun for young adventurers to join in with the storytelling, and witty, bold artwork by Matt Hunt adds…
I’m the author of funny-bone tickling and heartwarming picture books, Halloween Hustle and Prince and Pirate. My newest book, Dream Submarine, is a lyrical bedtime story that blends fiction and nonfiction and invites young readers on a journey through the world's oceans (Candlewick, 2024). Language Arts teacher turned writer, I'm passionate about literacy and love visiting schools and libraries to connect with my favorite people—kids! My books and all the perfectly piratey tales on this list are best when read aloud!
A hearty and slightly hapless pirate named Jack makes getting dressed an adventure! I believe the best picture books engage young readers, and I love the way Jack invites kids into the story, encouraging them to identify colors from gray long johns and pink socks to gold earrings and—surprise!—a green parrot. Written in rhyme with the perfect amount of piratey lingo, this book is best when read aloud. Illustrations provide a treasure trove of funny details for kids to discover.
Ahoy, matey! Join jaunty pirate Captain Jack as he uses every color of the rainbow to pick out his outfit in this bright and bold read-aloud.
It’s the crack o’ dawn, and dapper Pirate Jack is ready t’ get dressed for a day out on the high seas with his motley crew. He’ll need every color of the rainbow to make his outfit complete—from his itchy gray long johns and his toasty pink socks to his bright red sash and his cozy purple coat. And he won’t be forgettin’ his black eye patch and trusty brown peg leg, either!
I’m the author of funny-bone tickling and heartwarming picture books, Halloween Hustle and Prince and Pirate. My newest book, Dream Submarine, is a lyrical bedtime story that blends fiction and nonfiction and invites young readers on a journey through the world's oceans (Candlewick, 2024). Language Arts teacher turned writer, I'm passionate about literacy and love visiting schools and libraries to connect with my favorite people—kids! My books and all the perfectly piratey tales on this list are best when read aloud!
“Arrrh! No pigs on pirate ships!” growls
Captain Wibblyshins when Rufus, a perky little pig with a backpack full of
books, tries to board the Scurvy Dog. If you enjoy puns and fun-to-say phrases
(like “pigs play on the poop deck” and “picnic in the crow’s nest”) as much as
I do, you’re going to enjoy this book. Kids of all ages will root for Rufus as
he creatively convinces everyone that he’s an excellent addition to the crew.
Ink and watercolor illustrations are entertaining and endearing.
Ahoy-Pirate Pig on board! What does a book-loving pig like Rufus do when school's out for summer? He turns to his favourite stories for inspiration, of course! And before long, he's dreaming of days filled with adventure and nights under blankets of stars. It's the pirate life for him, matey. But Captain Wibblyshins says: "no pigs on pirate ships!" After all, pigs get tangled in the rat lines, they picnic in the crow's nest, and worst of all, they even wipe their chins with the Jolly Roger. Can Rufus convince the Captain that he's no landlubber swine? And could his…
I’m the author of funny-bone tickling and heartwarming picture books, Halloween Hustle and Prince and Pirate. My newest book, Dream Submarine, is a lyrical bedtime story that blends fiction and nonfiction and invites young readers on a journey through the world's oceans (Candlewick, 2024). Language Arts teacher turned writer, I'm passionate about literacy and love visiting schools and libraries to connect with my favorite people—kids! My books and all the perfectly piratey tales on this list are best when read aloud!
I recommend this raucous tale because it combines two kid favorites (and, let’s be honest, two of my favorites): pirates and Halloween! I thoroughly enjoyed the stomping, clomping, romping rhyme and the refrain young readers will eagerly repeat—“We be pirates. Trick arrr treat!” The fact that the book features an inclusive cast of characters is an added bonus. All these things combine to make this book a marvelous choice for a fun, engaging pirate or Halloween-themed storytime.
Charlotte Blue-Tongue, Peg-Leg Pete, Glass-Eyed Gabby, and their friends swashbuckle through the streets demanding loot and treasure from their neighbors in this Halloween pirate tale. As their world transforms from neighborhood to pirate's lagoon, they shout, "We be pirates. TRICK ARRR TREAT!" But what's lurking in the shadows? Are the pirates brave enough to defend their treasure?
For half my life I’ve lived on an island near Hong Kong, walking distance from former pirate havens. I made my career as a cartoonist and published numerous satirical books about Hong Kong and China. Recently, I've spent years deeply researching the pirates of the South China coast, which culminated in writing an utterly serious book about the most powerful pirate of all, a woman about whom the misinformation vastly outnumbers the facts. I made it my mission to discover the truth about her. The books on this list hooked me on Chinese pirates in the first place and are essential starting points for anyone prepared to have their imaginations hijacked by Chinese “froth floating on the sea”.
Dian Murray spent ten years in Taiwan and mainland China in the 1970s and 1980s doing groundbreaking research into the early 19th century pirates, which became her PhD dissertation, later expanded into this book. This is the first attempt in any language to put together the full story of these pirates. Being an academic, her interest was less on the wider narrative and personalities, and more on various issues of historical development, sociology, weaponry, and more. By far the most important book for anyone researching these pirates. Sadly out of print.
In my day job I’m a professor in a hard science and, unsurprisingly, a lesbian. I love sapphic fiction, especially speculative sapphic fiction, but it can be hard to find as the books are seldom labeled as such. Because I write in this genre I’ve been able to ferret out a lot of them, and have made it a mini mission to read as many as possible. I’m particularly drawn to those that get science right (bad science to a science professor is like nails on a chalk board), and those that have at least a little bit of kissing.
Straddling the line between space opera and military sci-fi, Barbary Station scratches the itch for those who like their space lesbians already in a relationship, and just focusing on the adventure. Recent college graduates Adda and Iridian have a ton of student debt and real jobs just aren’t going to pay the bills. Hence they turn to piracy (of course), and things get sticky, fast, when the space station they are on starts to crumble apart, and killer AIs come after them.
There aren’t a lot of sapphic space books where the main pair are already together. Watching a married couple navigate a more mature relationship while still battling aliens and technology is a refreshing take, and one that will definitely appeal to older sci-fi fans.
Two engineers hijack a spaceship to join some space pirates-only to discover the pirates are hiding from a malevolent AI. Now they have to outwit the AI if they want to join the pirate crew-and survive long enough to enjoy it.
Adda and Iridian are newly minted engineers, but aren't able to find any work in a solar system ruined by economic collapse after an interplanetary war. Desperate for employment, they hijack a colony ship and plan to join a famed pirate crew living in luxury at Barbary Station, an abandoned shipbreaking station in deep space.
Two things I absolutely loved growing up: fantasy novels and history. Swashbuckling pirate stories are like a fantastic combination of both, and the way that the age of sail touched all corners of the world creates an opportunity for so many different kinds of stories to be told through this lens. As a queer writer, my passion is writing the kind of stories I loved as a child. As a trans adult, I find joy in making the next generations feel comfortable in their own skin. Living in Vancouver, B.C. I write novels and animated television, and I also co-host a podcast about advertising called Ad Creeps.
If you’re looking for a very sweet queer YA romance in a super original fantasy world, this is a great pick. I really loved the politics surrounding magic and how Lukens used those to drive the story. Tal is a real sweetheart protagonist who immediately pulls you in, makes you feel comfortable, and pulls you along for the ride. Another thing I appreciated about this book was the relationships between Tal and his siblings. At its heart, In Deeper Waters is a story about finding your own place in the world when the tide gets high, and I can really relate to that.
"A frothy confection of sea-foam, young love, and derring-do." -NPR
A young prince must rely on a mysterious stranger to save him when he is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour in this swoony adventure that is The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean.
Prince Tal has long awaited his coming-of-age tour. After spending most of his life cloistered behind palace walls as he learns to keep his forbidden magic secret, he can finally see his family's kingdom for the first time. His first taste of adventure comes just two days into the journey, when their…
Two things I absolutely loved growing up: fantasy novels and history. Swashbuckling pirate stories are like a fantastic combination of both, and the way that the age of sail touched all corners of the world creates an opportunity for so many different kinds of stories to be told through this lens. As a queer writer, my passion is writing the kind of stories I loved as a child. As a trans adult, I find joy in making the next generations feel comfortable in their own skin. Living in Vancouver, B.C. I write novels and animated television, and I also co-host a podcast about advertising called Ad Creeps.
I can’t help it, I am an absolute sucker for a girl dressing up as a boy. It’s a classic trope in lesbian fiction, and while it’s reminiscent of trans masculine narratives, it’s also a fantastical reflection of butch/femme dynamics, and these two things can co-exist in the literary world. Flora/Florian is a really special protagonist, and her relationship with Evelyn is as exciting as the overall story. Tokuda-Hall has clearly had so much fun weaving in a variety of fantasy elements, throwing us mermaids, witches, pirates, and, of course, the Sea.
In a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic, a desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial lady find a connection on the high seas. Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don't trust, don't stick out, and don't feel. But on this voyage, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is headed to an arranged marriage she dreads. Flora doesn't expect to be…
Having climbed many a tree with the boys as a kid, I cannot stay away from a good gender-bender romance. The suspense, the humour of it, and the inevitable conclusion that not your appearance but your choices define who you are – a perfect combination in my opinion. Mix in a male counterpart who is supportive and understanding and I am hooked! So much so, that I have written a book about a girl who dressed up as a boy.
Mary "Jacky" Faber, an orphaned street kid in early 19th century London, begins her adventures across the seven seas by dressing up as a ship's boy. Throughout the series she builds up quite the amazing resume that would put a Navy Seal to shame. And of course, there is a bit of romance here and there but the focus lies on Jacky sailing the world and kicking butt!
Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life--if only she doesn't get caught. . . .
I loved cartoons growing up. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Thundercats? Gargoyles? All favorites. But so many of the cartoons never changed anything. There were never any real stakes. (Except for Gargoyles. I fell in love with that show because of its continuity!) I hungered for books where things mattered, where the main characters did things that changed from book to book. Give me adventures that change the world! Well, I found some of those books. Here are stories where the main characters are kids. And now I get to enjoy these same stories with my kids!
Matt serves as a cabin boy on an airship when he encounters a man who claims there are creatures that fly and never touch the ground…
This book is pure fun and adventure. Looking for amazing creatures? Real stakes and human conflict? A likable main character? You’ve got it all here. I particularly loved the work the author put into creating an entire ecosystem of creatures that live so far up in the sky that we never see them on the ground!
Matt Cruse is cabin boy aboard the Aurora, an airship which truly is lighter than air. Since the discovery of hydrium, a gas that renders even the heaviest vehicle as light as a feather, airships travel all over the world in the same way as planes do today. Matt himself was born on an airship and it is there that he feels most at home. Matt has high hopes for promotion to junior sailmaker on this voyage - until Kate de Vries, one of the wealthy passengers, arrives on the scene. She's feisty and brave, and won't let social distinctions…
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