Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao

by Helaine Becker, Liz Wong (Illustrator)

The most powerful pirate in history was a woman who was born into poverty in Guangzhou, China, in the late 1700s. When pirates attacked her town and the captain took a liking to her, she saw a way out. Zheng Yi Sao agreed to marry him only if she got an equal share of his business. When her husband died six years later, she took command of the fleet.

Over the next decade, the pirate queen built a fleet of over 1,800 ships and 70,000 men. On land and sea, Zheng Yi Sao’s power rivaled the emperor himself. Time and again, her ships triumphed over the emperor’s ships.

When she was ready to retire, Zheng Yi Sao surrendered ― on her own terms, of course. Even though there was a price on her head, she was able to negotiate her freedom, living in peace and prosperity for the rest of her days.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Biography, History, Pirates, China

36 pages, Hardcover

First published March 3, 2020

About the author

Helaine Becker has written over 70 books, including the #1 National bestseller, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree,and its sequel, Dashing through the Snow, Sloth at the Zoom, Dirk Daring, Secret Agent, the Looney Bay All-Stars chapter book series, non-fiction including Counting on Katherine, Worms for Breakfast and Zoobots (all Junior Library Guild Selections), Monster Science, You Can Read, Lines Bars and Circles, and Boredom Blasters, plus many picture books and young adult novels. She also writes for children’s magazines and for children's television. Her show Dr. Greenie's Mad Lab was a finalist at MIP.com Junior in Cannes.
She has won the Lane Anderson Award for Science Writing for Children twice,once for The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea and once for The Insecto-Files, and the Picture Book of the Year Award from the Canadian Booksellers Association for A Porcupine in a Pine Tree. She has also won three Silver Birch awards and a Red Cedar award.

Helaine Becker holds U.S. and Canadian citizenship. She attended high school in New York, university in North Carolina (Go Blue Devils!!!!) and now lives in Toronto with her husband and dog, Ella. She has two really handsome sons.

Reviews

[nitya · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The sea, it seemed, had dreamed of me."

I may be a bit old for picture books, but this one caught my eye for several reasons. I heard of Ching Shih/Zheng Yi Sao before (her actual name and family/birth date details are lost to history), but I had no idea how she became such a legend. This book isn't a full biography, since some parts are fictionalized and shortened, but it does a wonderful job of highlighting Shih's accomplishments, cleverness and bravery.

The artwork is captivating and the prose is simple but lyrical. The author's note at the end offers more information about Ching Shih and the time period she was in.

Content warning: mention of suicide (not graphic), allusions to rape/kidnapping of women (not graphic but I am including it)

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me introduce an amazing bad-ass lady pirate Zheng Yi Sao.
- took over the South Asian Seas
-was a fair leader
- was a fantastic entrepreneur
-had more influence and power than the Emperor of China

Featuring phenomenal illustrations, great details about an amazing woman and Helaine Becker's prose make this wonderful story of an often untold woman!

[Celise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful if brief look into the life of one of the greatest pirates to ever have lived, if the little we know of her is true. Could have been a touch longer in the mid-section, but it is for children.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a big soft spot for pirate women (huuuuge soft spot, seriously give me all the lady pirates) and I have a soft spot for Helaine Becker's picture book biographies, so I was delighted to learn that Becker was releasing a picture book biography of Zheng Yi Sao.

The illustrations are gorgeous, and Liz Wong gave so much character to this book. It manages to be sophisticated and muted, yet still extremely kid-friendly. Zheng Yi Sao looks just as fierce as you'd expect a pirate queen to look.

The story provides details of Zheng Yi Sao's life, and the author's note provides extra information about where they needed to fill in the blanks (and what information from the period was used to fill in details of her life). It has a great flow to it, so whether kids are looking to learn a bit of cool history or need an adventurous tale for storytime, they're sure to be content.

Recommended!

[Chantal Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC.

I loved this picture book. The illustrations were beautiful. The pages had more writing than a regular picture book, therefore it felt more like a storybook than a picture book. The writing was wonderful and descriptive. I learned a lot from this story and I'm glad this book exists even if a lot of it was fictional. There's little known about this historical figure therefore a lot of fictional liberties were taken. Nonetheless, It was a beautifully put together story that sheds light on a part of history rarely talked about: women pirates.

[NTE · Rating 5 out of 5]

"But Fortune cares nothing for your dreams. She takes up your life in her cup and shakes it so hard your teeth rattle in your head and your heart roars like a dragon in your chest. Then she throws the bones onto her table of lacquer and jade. Your fate is sealed." - Helaine Becker, Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao

Did I know much about Zheng Yi Sao before I read this? Only that she existed, reigned over the South China Sea with an iron hand, and defeated fleets hired from England (and, apparently, France & Portugal) when the Emperor was trying to capture/subdue her. Turns out, there's so much more to know, and Helaine Becker does an excellent job of presenting it all.

The writing here is rich in metaphors "We girls scattered like chickens in the rain. We squawked like chickens, too. But there was no chance to escape," and "In Canton, girls like us were like ink; used and used until we were all used up." In fact, if I were still teaching, I'd be using the prose in this book to do a nice little lesson on metaphors, and their place in folktales. "I was ink, but I would also be the brush." The language is strong and gorgeous, lyrical in an almost-poetic way. "In the end, I had written my own scroll, using brine and blood as my ink. I had never dreamed of the sea, but the sea, it seemed, had dreamed of me."

The author also includes a concluding note that mentions how little is known of Zheng Yi Sao: including her actual name (the name here, which is what she is best known by, means "Wife of Zheng Yi"), even though she was 'probably the most powerful pirate' in all of known history, and how most of the story is an approximation & best guess of the Pirate Queen's attitude and feelings, as reflected in her actions & the mores of the time. 


Liz Wong's illustrations are rich in color & character, and tell just as much of the story as the text, Look at this powerful queen.

"I was now thirty-two years old. A widow. And the queen of 70,000 men, with more than 1,800 ships at my command. Fortune had lifted me high and flung me headlong into the teeth of the wind." 

It's a picture book for kids who are above entry level early-reader books in the course of their everyday reading. So if your child is struggling with most sight words, or not above a level 3 'Step into Reading', this book should be for shared read alouds. That said, I think we should be reading aloud with/to our kids until they're in high school (and longer, if they let us), so the idea of reading aloud with a 3rd or 4th grader isn't an issue for me, at all. The topic is going to be interesting for kids, big and small, so the only hold out is who's going to be doing the majority of the reading, really. For our family, that matters zero percent, so Pirate Queen is going to be getting read for a long while.

[Camila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVE!!

This woman accomplished so much in her life and I have MAJOR respect for her. She is my new favorite person in history. I agree with the author. More people need to know about this amazing, badass woman. 👑⚔🌊⛵

[Lo Wayward Tomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stories about kick butt pirate ladies.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Becker pieced together what little is known about Zheng Yi Sao and spun the story of what her life was probably like. This is fictionalized account but offers a realistic look at her life.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao is a short, non-fiction picture book by Helaine Becker, and illustrated by Liz Wong. It is about the pirate Zheng Yi Sao, who commanded a huge fleet of ships and tens of thousands of pirates. The book gives a talk about who she was and what she did throughout her lifetime.

My first thought is that I liked the book to a reasonable extent. I’ll admit that I don’t know how much of it is true or not. It’s sort of a mix between fiction and non-fiction. In the sense that the author says there isn’t much information, so they had to fill in some gaps, as per the Author's Notes which mentions, "Scholars know relatively little about the Pirate Queen." And "... I had to fill in the gaps." So it feels that it’s based on a true story, rather than being a 100% factual version. In the same way, I wish there had been a lot more to the book. The general story is very vague and really skims a lot over the years of this person’s life. I know it’s a picture book and the Amazon store page for it lists it for ages “6 - 8 years”. But, I feel like I learnt very little throughout the book.

I think it's a beautiful story. There are sad aspects about it, such as the woman having been kidnapped as a girl and forced to marry a man. However, it is also a story of the Pirate Queen's power and strength. She was able to take control of the pirates and then take huge amounts of control. One particular moment stood out to me, “I was ink, but I could also be the brush. If fortune allowed, I would write my own scroll.” I'll admit to not knowing much of her. But this book has given me a bit of an interest in reading more.

There's a lot of great illustrations to the book. The artist has done well at capturing some beautiful seascapes and the battles of ships. I admire the talent of the artist in their ability of drawing people. All of the proportions are good and there's a lot of good emotion shown on the Pirate Queen's face. I can see her determination.

Overall, I think it’s a pretty okay book. Though, as it’s listed as a non-fiction book, I would have appreciated if it were a bit more factual. But I can certainly understand that the information just isn’t available for the author to provide it. I think the book has done a good job in drawing my interest to a figure I don’t know much about, and the illustration has done incredible work on the scenes.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao is a children's picture book written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by Liz Wong. It is biography from stolen bride to pirate queen: a young woman’s rise to become the most powerful pirate in history.

Shi Xianggu was known as Zheng Yi Sao. They adopted Cheung Po as their step-son, making him Zheng's legal heir. She also bore him two sons; Zheng Ying Shi and Zheng Xiong Shi.

Becker's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Written in first person and with scarce primary documentation, but working with what's known she has woven together a poetic first-person story that's both believable and readable. Backmatter includes author's note, sources, further references, and a note on names. Wong's stylized pencil illustrations highlight intricate details that epitomize turn-of-the-19th-century China, a restrained palette providing color.

The premise of the book is rather straightforward. When pirate Zheng Yi and his crew raids the port city of Canton, they plunder both goods and women. Zheng Yi picks one girl to be his bride. Boldly, Zheng Yi Sao shoots him a stipulation: She will marry him only if he gives her an equal share in his enterprise. Six years later, Zheng Yi is dead, and his widow now commands 70,000 men and over 1,800 ships. Eventually, Zheng Yi Sao grows tired of life at sea. With the same defiance and boldness that she employed so long ago, she demands her freedom from the governor-general of Canton.

All in all, Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng Yi Sao is an inspiring historical biographical picture book about Zheng Yi Sao.

[Cindy Vallar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreams and reality are very different, and fate cares little for a person’s hopes. When pirates attack a village, they take the usual plunder, as well as girls. So it is that one of these finds herself desired by the pirate captain. But she refuses to marry Zheng Yi unless he gives her an equal share. Her boldness pleases him and they wed, but six years later he dies. Since fate has dealt her a path she didn’t expect, she assumes control of the pirates with the help of a lieutenant named Zhang Bao. Together they forge a pirate confederation that is invincible.

This first-person narrative recounts the story of the most successful pirate, a woman whose name is unknown, but is known as Zheng Yi Sao (“wife of Zheng Yi”). Although this is a picture book, it is geared toward young pirates who can read. Yet it is also a tale that will engage adult pirates as well. Becker does a commendable job keeping the narrative g-rated, historically accurate, and on an even keel. The combination of subtle text and expressive pictures weaves a convincing tale filled with emotion and conveys a sense of place that transports readers back to China at the turn of the nineteenth century. For readers who wish to know more about the real Zheng Yi Sao, Becker summarizes what we know of her and includes resources where additional information can be found. Pirate Queen is a wonderful introduction to a successful pirate who never forgot she was a woman and who forged a second life once she retired from the sea.

[Teleri Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was inspired by this historical figure. I used to love reading historical books growing up, and I came across this name, Zheng Yi Sao. Although she just came up briefly in the book I was reading at the time, I found her extremely interesting. When she came up later in my European history class, I decided to read her book. She was a Chinese pirate chief that ruled the Asian sea in the early 19th century. Her fleet was the largest pirate organization in the world at the time, and she did this all by herself, as a woman in a male dominated country and world. The way she let nobody get in her way, but was also peaceful truly intrigued me. I even wrote one of my college application essays about her. I recommend this book to anyone who loves history or anyone who wants to know about a historical figure that accomplished a lot but is not that well known.

[Claire Wrobel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve been on a learning binge about Zheng Yi Sao so I was excited to read this. I especially love learning about people through picture book biographies.

The illustrations were beautiful. Reminiscent of ancient Chinese art style.

I didn’t love the actual writing. Sometimes it seemed very metaphorical which stood awkwardly next to the regular narration. I’m not sure who the intended audience is—the text ranged greatly in terms of vocabulary and reading ability. There were also several pages where the text was badly placed against the colors of the illustrations which made it more difficult to physically read.

I feel like this could have been great if it had been given more effort. The author’s bibliography at the end only listed three sources, which seems suspiciously low to me. I’ve used more than three sources just in my learning binge about her.

[Matal “The Mischling Princess” Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it when authors, and especially children’s authors, are able to help children learn about history and other cultures. Helaine Becker did both of these things in PIRATE QUEEN: A STORY OF ZHENG YI SAO. The author revealed how Zheng Yi Sao created her own destiny on the South China Sea, not as a pawn in a man’s world, but as a leader and military strategist. Unlike most pirates, this strong and fascinating woman actually negotiated not just her freedom, but for the freedom of others as well, and lived out her remaining years until dying of old age.

This magnificent story was illustrated by Liz Wong, who did a beautiful job of bring Becker’s story to life. I highly recommend this book and hope to see it in a multitude of libraries.

[Varshini · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was not expecting the book to be quite so short. I thought it would be more of a historical fiction novel that chronicles her life in much greater detail. However I did like the book and the illustrations were so beautiful. I did however find the book hard to read as the letters were all close together and overlapping at some points. Not sure if this was a stylistic choice or an error in the e-book.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A picture book, but not for little ones (and I think the smaller format is an indication that the publisher recognizes that).

Creative non-fiction because there's a lot that's not known about her (even though she was a pirate from approximately 1801-1810, so not THAT long ago).

I don't feel like the book gives a good sense of how short her time as a pirate was (I figured that out from the back matter).

[Emily✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zheng Yi Sao (aka Ching Shih) is one of my favorite historical figures, and her story is beautifully written here (though some liberties are taken with gaps in the historical record of her life). It's definitely a bit sanitized for the target audience, but still a great introduction to a badass lady pirate!

[Kaitlyn Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

The literary prose is great, complex and sings. Though, it may be challenging for kids to understand everything that's being read to them. I enjoyed how headstrong the Pirate Queen is; not unexpected, but still a fun surprise that made me chuckle every now and again. The illustrations are beautiful, and I love how they're stylized like ancient Chinese illustrations with a modern flair.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fictionalized (partially out of necessity) story of Zheng Yi Sao, who led a dominant pirate fleet in the early 1800s near/in China.

A lot of the timeline is definitely not clear in the main text, but there are dates in the back matter. (The main text largely skips over the six years as Zheng Yi's wife and spends much more time on the three or four years as leader of the fleet.)

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical fiction biography (as the backmatter explains, plausible events were used to supplement the little that is known of Zheng Yi Sao) tells of her rise to become perhaps the most powerful pirate captain. It is a short book and told factually, but her kidnapping might steer this book's audience to upper elementary.

[PixieART · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much is know about Zheng Yi Sao. She lived a long time ago but most believed she was the greatest Pirates Captain, Man or Women.
I'm surprised there's not more movies and books about her.
This one has beautiful pictures and a short but informative notes from the author that tell more about what we do know about her.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter really enjoyed this picture book biography of Pirate Queen Zheng Yi Sao. She was a bit disappointed to learn how much of the story was fiction, but given the holes in the historic record, the author had to take some liberties to complete the tale. An enjoyable read.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was sooooo good. Want more books about zheng yo sao also wish we knew her given name. What a badass both economically and strategically. Also rules on conduct for pirates including how to treat captured women that’s so cool and this was in 1700s in China so badass.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of a pirate, and a queen of her own making.
Some is fact, some is a guess, but all based on history.
A lot of things shocked or awed me!

After the story, the author gives a full biography of what we know and don't know about Zheng Yi Sao.

Good, if you're wanting to learn about her!

[Mary-Esther Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the first person, this is a strong, dramatic book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally - a story about a pirate queen for kids.

[Beka Griffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice and easily digestible story about the first pirate queen.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little book.

[Ken Yuen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. While fictionalized, it filled out the narrative in a believable fashion, and the two pages of biographical notes and research at the end helped fill in everything else.