Setting sail for the pirate life

Avast ye pirates and batten the hatches! Sunday is “How to Talk Like

a Pirate Day,” so step smartly, me lass and lassie and visit your

favorite Newport Beach Public Library to read and learn about

pirates, pirate life and pirate talk! Why an International Talk Like

a Pirate Day? Because, talking like a pirate is FUN. It’s that

simple. Silliness is the holiday’s best selling point.

What are pirates and why do they fascinate us so? A pirate is a

person who attacks, robs, and plunders on the sea. Buccaneers were

pirates operating in the Caribbean and around the coast of South

America, better known as the Spanish Main, during the 17th century.

Corsairs were pirates based in the Mediterranean, more famously known

as the Barbary Coast.

Adults can find information on the history of pirates in a variety

of books. “Caribbean Pirates,” by Warren Alleyne, tells the true

story of leading pirate characters that conducted their activities in

the Caribbean. He disentangles fact from fiction and shows how the

popular legends were created.

“Pirates in History,” by Ralph Ward and “Piracy and Pirates: A

History,” by Juan Cabal give an overview of the subject from the

ancient days to the early 1900s. “Under the Black Flag: The Romance

and the Reality of Life among the Pirates,” written and published in

1995 by David Cordingly, explodes many closely held myths and

replaces them with a truth that is more complex and every bit as

fascinating.

Modern pirates can be seen in “Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and

Terror on the High Seas,” by John Burnett (2002), and “Outlaws of the

Ocean: The Complete Book of Contemporary Crime on the High Seas,” by

Gerhard O.W. Mueller and Freda Adler (1985).

Fiction titles that will take the reader far, far away in time and

geography, include the series “Treasures of the Caribbean,” by Jim

Kraus with three volumes (“Pirates of the Heart,” “Passages of Gold”

and “Journey to the Crimson Sea”); “The King of Pirates” by Daniel

Defoe, not to mention Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island,” and

“Peter Pan” by J.M. Barrie.

Children can find a treasure chest of materials about pirates that

tell of the times they lived in and how they existed. “Pirate,” an

Eyewitness Book by Richard Platt, is an excellent place to start with

facts and outstanding pictures that bring them to life. Other

suggestions are: “Pirates! Raiders of the High Seas,” by Christopher

Maynard; “My Best Book of Pirates,” by Barnaby Harward; and “Pirates:

Robbers of the High Seas,” by Gail Gibbons for ideas on how to turn

oneself into a pirate. This title, along with “Pirates: Facts, Things

to Make, Activities,” by Rachel Wright, and “The Pirate’s Handbook,”

by Margarette Lincoln, all give ideas, instructions and good pictures

illustrating such pirate “things” as making a Jolly Roger or a

treasure map.

Don’t forget to “talk like a pirate” all day Sunday. For those who

don’t know how, just remember these five basic words and throw them

into conversation at any point: Ahoy, avast, aye, aye and arrr!

For more information on this silly day, go to https://www.talklikea

pirateday.com. Shiver me timbers and ready about skipper!

DID YOU KNOW

Speaking of pirate treasure, the Balboa Branch Library, 100 E.

Balboa Blvd., will host a special on “The Search and Discovery of

Sunken Treasure” on Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. The treasure is from the Atocha,

a Spanish galleon sunk off the Florida Keys in 1622, is worth more

than $500 million today. Treasure diver Rick Daynes will be the

speaker. Bring the whole family! For more information, please call

the branch at (949) 644-3077.

CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public

Library. This week’s column is by Phyllis Scheffler. All titles may

be reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at

https://www.newportbeach

library.org. For more information on the Central Library or any of

the branch locations, please contact the Newport Beach Public Library

at (949) 717-3800, option 2.