Love Pirate's Perfect Pet? Readers share 84 books like Pirate's Perfect Pet...

By Beth Ferry , Matt Myers (illustrator) ,

Here are 84 books that Pirate's Perfect Pet fans have personally recommended if you like Pirate's Perfect Pet. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of How I Became a Pirate

Diana Murray Author Of Unicorn Day: A Magical Kindness Book for Children

From my list on children’s books for talk like a pirate day.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of over twenty books for children, including National Bestseller Unicorn Day and the sequel, Unicorn Night: Sleep Tight, as well as Help Mom Work From Home!, Goodnight Veggies (a Jr. Library Guild Selection), and One Snowy Day. My poems have appeared in many anthologies and children’s magazines, such as Highlights and Spider. I grew up in New York City and still live nearby with my firefighter husband, two children, and a dancing dog.

Diana's book list on children’s books for talk like a pirate day

Diana Murray Why Diana loves this book

This book seems to make many “best pirate book” lists, and with good reason. It’s full of fun pirate phrases and songs, has a refrain that encourages audience participation, and has a great underlying message that is subtly delivered through the main character’s own kid perspective. Although being a cantankerous pirate seems like fun, the relatable main character eventually realizes that the pirates’ rule-free lifestyle has some negatives (such as green teeth due to not brushing) and decides for himself that maybe he doesn’t want to be a pirate after all.

By Melinda Long , David Shannon (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How I Became a Pirate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this New York Times bestseller illustrated by Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator David Shannon, a boy sets off on a pirate adventure—with surprising results!

When Braid Beard’s pirate crew invites Jeremy Jacob to join their voyage, he jumps right on board. Buried treasure, sea chanteys, pirate curses—who wouldn’t go along?

Soon Jeremy Jacob knows all about being a pirate. He throws his food across the table and his manners to the wind. He hollers like thunder and laughs off bedtime. It’s the heave-ho, blow-the-man-down, very best time of his life. But then Jeremy Jacob finds out what pirates don’t do. .…


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Book cover of Birds on the Brain

Birds on the Brain by Uma Krishnaswami,

Reeni is wild about birds so naturally, when she and her friend Yasmin have to pick a topic for a school assignment, birds in the city are an obvious choice. But when the upcoming bird count is threatened, Reeni has to detour from birding to activism. This is a global…

Book cover of Henry & the Crazed Chicken Pirates

Diana Murray Author Of Unicorn Day: A Magical Kindness Book for Children

From my list on children’s books for talk like a pirate day.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of over twenty books for children, including National Bestseller Unicorn Day and the sequel, Unicorn Night: Sleep Tight, as well as Help Mom Work From Home!, Goodnight Veggies (a Jr. Library Guild Selection), and One Snowy Day. My poems have appeared in many anthologies and children’s magazines, such as Highlights and Spider. I grew up in New York City and still live nearby with my firefighter husband, two children, and a dancing dog.

Diana's book list on children’s books for talk like a pirate day

Diana Murray Why Diana loves this book

Who could resist a story about chicken pirates in a hot air balloon ship? This outrageous tale of adventure is sure to hold kids’ attention and make them laugh. Sensible, cautious Henry the bunny continues writing in his book despite the other pirates’ protests that writing is a pointless activity. In the end, he saves the day and changes their minds, thus delivering a message (in a fun way) about the importance of reading and writing.

By Carolyn Crimi , John Manders (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Henry & the Crazed Chicken Pirates as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

BOWK! Buccaneers and book lovers will squawk with laughter as Henry and his hare-brained crew face another high-seas adventure. Now in paperback. (Ages 4-8)

Barnacle Black Ear and his band of Buccaneer Bunnies are back! The floppy-eared scallywags are busy — shooting one another out of cannons; swinging from the masts of their ship — too busy to listen when Henry finds a threatening message in a bottle. While Henry works frantically on his book mapping out a plan, his mates bowl with coconuts or dig for treasure, and his father, Black Ear, bellows that Henry is wasting his time.…


Book cover of Pirasaurs!

Diana Murray Author Of Unicorn Day: A Magical Kindness Book for Children

From my list on children’s books for talk like a pirate day.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of over twenty books for children, including National Bestseller Unicorn Day and the sequel, Unicorn Night: Sleep Tight, as well as Help Mom Work From Home!, Goodnight Veggies (a Jr. Library Guild Selection), and One Snowy Day. My poems have appeared in many anthologies and children’s magazines, such as Highlights and Spider. I grew up in New York City and still live nearby with my firefighter husband, two children, and a dancing dog.

Diana's book list on children’s books for talk like a pirate day

Diana Murray Why Diana loves this book

With bouncy rhyming text (extra points for the unique rhyme scheme!), this one makes for a fun read-aloud. Pirates and dinos are a winning combination and it’s a nice touch that Captain Rex is female. The main character is a small dino that kids will relate to and root for, and there is a nice underlying message of cooperation.

By Josh Funk , Michael H. Slack (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pirasaurs! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We're Pirasaurs! We're Pirasaurs!
We rule the open seas!
We'll cannon-blast you to the past! 
We do just what we please!

Meet the Pirasaurs, a ragtag team of seasoned pirate dinosaurs looking for adventure and treasure! There's fearsome Captain Rex, golden-toothed Velocimate, one-eyed Bronto Beard, and more fearsome, buccaneering beasts....as well as one new recruit who may be small, but who's eager to prove he can learn the ropes and find his place on the team.

But when a trap is set upon the Pirasaurs while looking for buried treasure, it's up to the littlest recruit to show the team…


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Book cover of Boy Underground

Boy Underground by Isabelle Marinov,

Boy Underground is a powerful adventure story about Hugo, an autistic boy who decides to go all the way into the Paris underground to find a place where he belongs.

For Hugo, the world can be too loud and bright. He likes the quiet. He likes the dark. And he…

Book cover of Pirate Mom

Diana Murray Author Of Unicorn Day: A Magical Kindness Book for Children

From my list on children’s books for talk like a pirate day.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of over twenty books for children, including National Bestseller Unicorn Day and the sequel, Unicorn Night: Sleep Tight, as well as Help Mom Work From Home!, Goodnight Veggies (a Jr. Library Guild Selection), and One Snowy Day. My poems have appeared in many anthologies and children’s magazines, such as Highlights and Spider. I grew up in New York City and still live nearby with my firefighter husband, two children, and a dancing dog.

Diana's book list on children’s books for talk like a pirate day

Diana Murray Why Diana loves this book

This hilarious story is an early reader rather than a picture book, and it’s a great example of a children’s book that will also entertain adults. Pete’s conservative, well-mannered mom gets turned into a pirate by a hypnotist. Then she proceeds to fly a jolly roger flag over their house, tries to fight a neighbor, steals underwear off the clothesline, and screams at the PTA to “Give me yer loot!” It’s incredibly funny to see the extreme transformation and all the trouble that Pirate Mom causes when she is in a trance.

By Deborah Underwood , Stephen Gilpin (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pirate Mom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Join Pete, whose mom has been hypnotized to believe she's actually a pirate, on his adventure to get his mom to remember who she really is!

Yo ho ho! Pete loves pirates, but his mom thinks they are rude and messy. Then Pete and his mom go to see the Amazing Marco, and Marco hypnotizes Pete’s mom into thinking she’s a pirate! Now Pete’s mom won’t behave. She chases the neighbors. She steals underwear off other people’s clotheslines. She’s even flying the Jolly Roger over the house. Pete has to find the Amazing Marco. He wants his real mom back!


Book cover of The Pirate Wars

Len Travers Author Of The Notorious Edward Low: Pursuing the Last Great Villain of Piracy's Golden Age

From my list on curing you of DPS (Disney Pirate Syndrome).

Why am I passionate about this?

Let's face it: pirates of the Golden Age are just cool. No one would actually want to encounter them, but they have been the stuff of escapist dreams since childhood. Adventure, fellowship, treasure–the “romantic” aspects of piracy are what make these otherwise nasty individuals anti-heroes par excellence. As an adult and academic and as an occasional crewman on square riggers, I adopted pirates as a favorite sub-set of maritime history. As with other aspects of the past, I view the history of pirates and piracy as really two narratives: what the records tell us happened and why and what our persistent fascination with them reveals about us.

Len's book list on curing you of DPS (Disney Pirate Syndrome)

Len Travers Why Len loves this book

I taught courses on Atlantic piracy in the early-modern era and always included this lively, authoritative survey of piracy (and anti-piracy). It is a go-to volume for the newcomer to pirate history as well as for the specialist, and my students consistently praised it.

Peter Earle brings his mastery of maritime history to each page and is never boring! 

By Peter Earle ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Pirate Wars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Investigating the fascination pirates hold over the popular imagination, Peter Earle takes the fable of ocean-going Robin Hoods sailing under the "banner of King Death" and contrasts it with the murderous reality of robbery, torture and death and the freedom of a short, violent life on the high seas. The book charts 250 years of piracy, from Cornwall to the Caribbean, from the 16th century to the hanging of the last pirate cptain in Boston in 1835. Along the way, we meet characters like Captain Thomas Cocklyn, chosen as commander of his ship "on account of his brutality and ignorance,"…


Book cover of Tough Boris

E.B. Bartels Author Of Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter

From my list on teaching kids about pet death.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m someone who has had a lot of pets in my life––dogs, fish, birds, turtles, tortoises––which means I’m also someone who has had a lot of pets in my life die, because the worst thing about pets is they don’t live as long as we do. I spent ten years writing Good Grief, but really, I’ve been researching Good Grief my whole life, ever since my first pet died. This list includes some classics I loved when I was a kid, and some newer titles that I learned about while researching Good Grief. All are wonderful and will be a balm during a hard time.  

E.B.'s book list on teaching kids about pet death

E.B. Bartels Why E.B. loves this book

This is another great picture book about the death of a non-dog/cat pet––in this Mem Fox classic, the pirate Tough Boris loses his dear pet parrot.

This book is especially wonderful though because it shows how even the toughest of tough guys––and Tough Boris is a tough pirate––can absolutely fall to pieces when a pet dies. It’s okay to cry about an animal dying––even if you are a pirate!

The really beautiful thing about this story though is seeing how Tough Boris copes with the loss through making friends with a stowaway boy on his ship, because if I’ve learned one thing from my pets dying, it’s that you need the support and love of other people to help you through the loss.

By Mem Fox , Kathryn Brown (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tough Boris as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Boris von der Broch is a mean, greedy old pirate - tough as nails, through and through, like all pirates. Or is he? For when Boris'' parrot dies, the tough pirate is reduced to tears'


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Book cover of One Giant Leap

One Giant Leap by Ben Gartner,

I’m pretty sure I’m about to die in space. And I just turned twelve and a half.

Blast off with the four winners of the StellarKid Project on a trip to the International Space Station and then to the Gateway outpost orbiting the Moon! It’s a dream come true until…

Book cover of Bandits at Sea: A Pirates Reader

Len Travers Author Of The Notorious Edward Low: Pursuing the Last Great Villain of Piracy's Golden Age

From my list on curing you of DPS (Disney Pirate Syndrome).

Why am I passionate about this?

Let's face it: pirates of the Golden Age are just cool. No one would actually want to encounter them, but they have been the stuff of escapist dreams since childhood. Adventure, fellowship, treasure–the “romantic” aspects of piracy are what make these otherwise nasty individuals anti-heroes par excellence. As an adult and academic and as an occasional crewman on square riggers, I adopted pirates as a favorite sub-set of maritime history. As with other aspects of the past, I view the history of pirates and piracy as really two narratives: what the records tell us happened and why and what our persistent fascination with them reveals about us.

Len's book list on curing you of DPS (Disney Pirate Syndrome)

Len Travers Why Len loves this book

I like books that challenge longstanding but doubtful dogma and expose historical fallacies. This collection of essays does just that, and it quickly brought me up to speed on some of the best and latest studies about pirates and piracy.

More than a dozen essays by as many noted historians helped dispel my misconceptions concerning Blacks as pirates, the practices of piracy and privateering, the roles of women at the business end of piracy (booty is only good if you can sell it), and more. 

By C.R. Pennell (editor) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bandits at Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dispelling the romanticized myths surrounding pirates, Pennell's edited collection provides a corrective history of bandits at sea
The romantic fiction of pirates as swashbuckling marauders terrorizing the high seas has long eclipsed historical fact. Bandits at Sea offers a long-overdue corrective to the mythology and the mystique which has plagued the study of pirates and served to deny them their rightful legitimacy as subjects of investigation.
With essays by the foremost scholars on these countercultural "social bandits," as Lingua Franca recently dubbed them, this collection examines various aspects of the phenomenon in the three main areas where it occurred: the…


Book cover of Sea Queens: Woman Pirates Around the World

Laura Sook Duncombe Author Of Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes, and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas

From my list on discover the truth about women pirates.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have loved pirates since my first viewing of Mary Martin’s Peter Pan at age 5. My passion for learning about these outlaws led me to discover the hidden stories of women pirates—who have always sailed alongside their male counterparts yet never get the same glory. When I learned about Cheng I Sao, the greatest pirate who ever lived (who was a woman), I was so angry that her story wasn’t more well-known that I wrote a book about it! It has been a joy and an honor to share the stories of pirate women with the world and I have fully embraced my title of “crazy pirate lady.”

Laura's book list on discover the truth about women pirates

Laura Sook Duncombe Why Laura loves this book

This is a picture book, but it’s absolutely lovely. Jane Yolen lends her considerable storytelling talent to this slim volume, which features both gorgeous illustrations of pirate women and bite-sized adaptations of their stories. This is a book I gift to most of the children in my life as a perfect introduction to the world of pirate women.

By Jane Yolen ( , Christine Joy Pratt (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sea Queens as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1963 Jane Yolen released a book called PIRATES IN PETTICOATS, because the idea of women as pirates fascinated her--but there wasn't much information about these women who made their livelihoods plundering on the high seas. Scholars have dug up a bounty of new information since then, and Jane, still fascinated, revisits the ladies who loot.

Discover such great pirates as Artemisia, the Admiral Queen of Persia who sailed the seas from 500 to 480 BC. At one point there was a 10,000 drachma prize for anyone who could capture her. There was Rachel Wall, who ran away from her…


Book cover of Meet The Pirates

Gwyn McNamee Author Of Squall Line

From my list on fulfilling your pirate fantasies.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a criminal defense attorney, mom, and wife who grew up along Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and lived there for 35 years, staring out at the vast water of the “Inland Seas” aka The Great Lakes. Intrigued by pirates, the criminals of the water, and the stories of pirates roaming the lakes, when I began writing fiction, I absolutely had to write a modern pirate series set in the area where I grew up. I’ve read dozens and dozens of historical non-fiction books about pirates, watched all the classic films and shows about them, and have read pirate romances my entire life, so writing my own was the next logical step.

Gwyn's book list on fulfilling your pirate fantasies

Gwyn McNamee Why Gwyn loves this book

This one is for all the parents out there. My five-year-old daughter absolutely adores all things pirate and we love James Davies’ book, Meet the Pirates. It gives historical information and background in a really bright and fun way that keeps kids interested in learning. My daughter was riveted when I was reading to her from this book, all about the background of the pirates, where they roamed the seas, where they settled, and about pirate ships. Even I learned a lot of interesting tidbits of information that I didn’t know. This is part of a series by James Davies that introduces kids to the Ancient Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians, too. 

By James Davies ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Meet The Pirates as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There's so much to digest when it comes to History - how do you know where to begin? These incredible short introductions are just the thing for readers aged 6+ who are beginning to explore ancient history. Get to know the basics on Pirates from famous looters to scurvy and hygiene, with easy-to-digest, humorous text that is reminiscent of the bestselling Horrible Histories series. James Davies' stunning artwork and infographics provide a fresh nonfiction approach that is sure to captivate young readers.


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Book cover of The City Sings Green & Other Poems About Welcoming Wildlife

The City Sings Green & Other Poems About Welcoming Wildlife by Erica Silverman,

A unique and artful blend of poetry, science, and activism, this picture book shows how city dwellers can intervene so that nature can work her magic.

In Oslo, Norway: citizens create a honeybee highway that stretches from one side of the city to the other, offering flowerpots, resting spots, bee…

Book cover of Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates

Wendy K. Perriman Author Of Fire on Dark Water

From my list on the real Pirates of the Caribbean.

Why am I passionate about this?

My fascination with pirates began as a student in Bristol (UK) – the legendary hometown of Edward Teach a.k.a. Blackbeard. Later, I visited the Pirates of Nassau Museum in the Bahamas and was amazed to learn there had been women buccaneers too. I wanted to discover more about these daring females and find out what might have enticed them to brave a tenuous life on the account. As fate would have it, I now live in North Carolina near the Outer Banks where Blackbeard met his fate. These experiences inspired me to write a different kind of adventure story about the real pirates of the Caribbean featuring a strong, resilient, swashbuckling female.

Wendy's book list on the real Pirates of the Caribbean

Wendy K. Perriman Why Wendy loves this book

David Cordingly’s book is useful for its accurate and lively attempt to separate pirate facts from public fiction. He sifts through childhood tales of wooden legs and parrots to highlight the harsh realities experienced by most of these violent rogues. The tortures he describes serve to remind the reader that these were desperate times full of volatile career criminals. And the women were often as dangerous as their male counterparts! While considering Anne Bonny and Mary Read, he questions “Were there other women pirates?” and “How was it possible for a woman to pass herself off as a man in the cramped and primitive conditions on board an eighteenth-century ship?” These prompts helped me to focus on the issues my own female protagonist would have to overcome during her nautical adventures. I recommend this book because it is informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining.

By David Cordingly ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Under the Black Flag as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book sets out to discover the truth behind the stereotypical image of the pirate. Examining the rich literary and cultural legacy of piratical icons from Blackbeard to Captain Hook, the author compares the legends with their historical counterparts and comes up with some surprising conclusions. In a wider overview of the piracy myth, he explores its enduring and extraordinary appeal and assesses the reality behind the romance, answering in the process questions such as: why did men become pirates; were there any women pirates; how much money did they make from their plundering and looting; what effect did their…


Book cover of How I Became a Pirate
Book cover of Henry & the Crazed Chicken Pirates
Book cover of Pirasaurs!

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Interested in Pirates, pets, and animals?

Pirates 91 books
Pets 56 books
Animals 240 books