L. L. Owens

books for children and young adults

A Pirate Tale

Cover illustration by Rex Schneider

It's the early 1700s, just outside of London, and ten-year-old Mary Read is trying on boys' clothing in a little room above the Boar's Head Inn. Find out how the clothes help her start a new life on the pirate ship Revenge! Hi-Lo: RL 2.1; IL 2–6.

A Pirate Tale is available in paperback (PB) and reinforced library binding (RLB) editions. Perfection Learning, 2000; 56 pages; PB ISBN 0-7891-2856-8; RLB ISBN 0-7807-7841-3.

To order the book, please call 1-800-831-4190, fax 1-712-644-2392, or click here.

Note: The publisher also offers Accelerated Reader® software and a Teacher Resource for this title.

Excerpt from Chapter 4: "A Real, Live Pirate"

Mary walked home slowly. Soon she neared the docks. She liked to watch the ships come in. She had heard that some of them were pirate ships.

Today, she saw a fine-looking sloop. It was called the Revenge. She wondered what treasures were on board.

"I'll bet there are yummy spices," she thought. "Teas too. And beautiful silks. Maybe there are even chests filled with gold!"

Suddenly, a rough-looking sailor flew off the sloop. He was chasing a boy. The boy was about Mary's age.

The sailor couldn't catch him. Instead, he stopped at the edge of his dock. Near Mary.

"Thief! Rat! Dog!" the sailor called after the boy. "You'd better keep runnin'! Get as far away from here as you can!"

The sailor kicked at an empty barrel and muttered to himself.

Mary studied him. He had long, dark, ratty hair. The top of his head was wrapped in a spotted blue bandanna. He wore a red-and-white striped shirt, gray pants, and black boots.

He had a jagged scar on his left cheek. He was missing his left earlobe, and his right lobe was pierced. He wore one gold and one silver hoop earring.

The sailor noticed Mary. He stepped closer.

"What are you lookin' at, laddie?" (Mary was still dressed like a boy.) "Haven't you ever seen a pirate before?"

"A pirate!" Mary replied, startled.

"That's right," he said. "I'm a real, live pirate. In the flesh."

He paused. Suddenly, he stamped his foot and bellowed, "Aaarrrgghh!"

Mary jumped back. Then she noticed the twinkle in his eye. They both started to laugh.

Excerpt © 2000 Perfection Learning.