Pirates: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #4: Pirates Past Noon

MY SON AND I LOVE THIS BOOK AND ALL THE MAGIC TREE HOUSE BOOKS ~ A MUST BUY FOR KIDS!!

My wife's children are fascinated by the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. They reflect the role that pirates have taken in the popular and entertainment media. However, the true story of the pirate lifestyle generally bears little resemblance to how it is portrayed. This book, a work of nonfiction, serves to present the facts regarding pirates. Written for children, the style is appropriate for the late elementary and early middle school student. The lives of the most famous pirates are described, as well as the difference between a pirate, a privateer and a buccaneer. A privateer was a free-lance robber, operating under the orders of a government. When a nation went to war with another and had no navy, they would hand out "letters of marquee" to ship captains, which gave them permission to attack ships belonging to the opposing nation(s). Buccaneers were criminals who traveled to islands in the Caribbean and settled there. Generally, they left everyone alone until the Spanish rulers tried to drive them from their homes. Their response was to attack Spanish shipping. This is a book that gives an accurate historical account of what pirates did. It is also clear that pirates rarely buried their treasure, as the whole point was to capture booty so that they could spend it. Many times, what was captured from one ship was enough, even after being parceled out to the entire crew, to allow a man to live for life. Given this, the idea that the crew would bury it is absurd.

I learned how the ancient Egyptians lived and what they did in their everyday life. I also learned about their burial chambers in the pyramids. They put paintings and all of their belongings in the tombs for use in their after lives. The pyramids were made of big stone blocks. Workers would move these heavy stone blocks into the a shape of a pyramid. I would recommend this book to any one who wants to learn about the ancient Egyptians.

I personally far prefer the non-fiction companions to the Magic Tree House Books. The Magic Tree House books don't seem to have a lot of "meat" to them and aren't very interesting to me or many of my (...) grade students. The non-fiction companions are truly absorbing and interesting. I enjoy them quite a bit and look forward to getting more for my students, and forgeting the fiction books altogether.