Pocket Bios: Blackbeard

Pocket Bios

by Al Berenger

A colorfully illustrated, pocket-size picture book biography of the notorious English pirate Blackbeard.

Blackbeard, born Edward Teach, was a notorious and much-feared English pirate who famously conquered and captained the Queen Anne's Revenge and prowled the seas around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Rather than ruling through force and bloody intimidation, it's believed that Blackbeard largely let his fierce image and reputation drive his success.

Pocket Bios are full of personality, introducing readers to fascinating figures from history with simple storytelling and cheerful illustrations. Titles include men and women from history, exploration, the sciences, the arts, the ancient world, and more.

32 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2018

Reviews

[Ro Menendez]

The Pocket Bio Series should not be mistaken for a very young reader's beginner's biography because of it's physical dimensions and cartoon-style illustrations. Its word count is much higher and events such as racism, suicide, and loss of life through war and violence are mentioned as part of the story of the subject's life, when applicable. Each spread has a title and text on the left side, including the years the events detailed on the page took place, and a related illustration on the right side. our interesting and useful sections are at the end of each biography: a Timeline with added events not necessarily mentioned in the text, a map that details the locations of important events with a Map Key and a short description of why the location was included, and most interesting of all a People to Know section that explores the idea that the subject of the biography did not live, work and achieve in isolation, the last section, Did You Know? offers interesting facts not discussed in the main text. A few of Blackbeard's Pocket Bio events worth mentioning: he started as a privateer (a type of sanctioned pirate), he had a crew of over 300 pirates, he tries to leave the pirate's life but went back to it. This biography gives readers, grades 2 and up, enough information to decide if they wish to pursue a more in depth study of the subject's life.

[Cara]

Part of the Pocket Bios series, this title introduces young readers to the most famous pirate of all—Blackbeard. Like the other books in the series, it is illustrated in a bright cartoon style and the text is easy to read. Dates of events are given underneath the text describing them. Other features include a timeline, map, and short biographies of other people mentioned in the book, as well as interesting facts. While short on detail, this is intended as a brief overview. The biggest drawback to the book is that the map has inaccuracies—Bath, North Carolina is located in New Jersey, and the Bay of Ocracoke is actually Chesapeake Bay. But considering the cartoon design of the map, it can be excused.
This book does not give a recommended age, but would be best for kindergarten up to fifth grade. I recommend as an optional purchase. (Reviewed by Charles Ross Hughes)

[Barbara]

Part of the Pocket Bios series featuring famous men and women, this one focusing on Blackbeard, a pirate, seems somewhat of an odd choice for the collection. Perhaps the publishers were hoping to cash in on the popularity of pirates among the younger set, but it's hard to find something noteworthy in the life of a man who served as a privateer and then a pirate, and who may or may not have betrayed his crew at some point. Clearly, he packed a lot of living in his short life, but I struggled to find anything that made me want to know more about him. As with the other books in this series, the back matter includes a timeline, a map with important places, four individuals important in his life, and four additional interesting facts.

[Jj]

A serviceable if dull introduction to Blackbeard for those with five minutes to spare.

[Nancy]

Short biography