To his contemporaries, the pirate Blackbeard (c. 1680-c. 1718; a.k.a. Edward Teach) was a fearsome creature who boarded ships and slaughtered crewmembers who resisted his plundering. Fortunately, the terror he once provoked has given way to wonder. In Blackbeard the Pirate King, the notorious sea dog comes to life in lively biographical poems by J. Patrick Lewis. Maps, historical prints, and other illustrations add atmosphere to the already pleasing text.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-7-A close-up cover illustration of the infamous Edward Teach, teeth bared and eyes glaring, will draw pirate aficionados and the curious alike to this book. Lewis offers 12 poems (some with awkward rhyme schemes) that will be best appreciated by those who know a little about Blackbeard and pirating history, though a footnote with important details follows most poems and an author's note mentions sources. What truly shines here is the design. Each poem is presented with a striking illustration-there's N. C. Wyeth's painterly "Duel on the Beach"; Howard Pyle's evocative "An Attack on a Galleon"; a reproduction of "one of the earliest known images of Blackbeard," by Thomas Nicholls (circa 1730); and an illustration (aglow in reds and oranges) of the terrifying Teach by the contemporary artist Rick Farrell. The variety of fonts and the pale brown pages evoke images of long-ago texts. Share this collection with reluctant poetry readers and anyone fascinated with the topic.-Daryl Grabarek, School Library Journal Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
In variously rhymed verses as swashbuckling as the figure they celebrate, Lewis tries to flesh out the little that is actually known about the character and career of the most renowned pirate ever. As the poet sticks to the facts, Blackbeard remains a menacing but shadowy figure with a visage "so frightful that it chilled his foes / Straight to the marrowbone." But Lewis also notes that, until his final fight, there is no evidence that he ever killed anyone, and he evidently lifted the blockade of Charleston, which was his crowning exploit, in exchange for a chest not of loot, but of medical supplies. With notes and captions at the bottom of each balladic entry and illustrations that range from a contemporary portrait to dramatic battle scenes from N.C. Wyeth and other recent artists, this offers an unusual mix of historical roots and rousing rhetoric. Young readers and listeners will fervently agree that, "of all the thieves of the Seven Seas, / No one would ever reach / The height and might / Of the roguish Knight / Of the Black Flag, Edward Teach." (timeline, afterword, bibliography) (Picture book/poetry. 7-10)
