“What are the best books about Pirates?” We looked at 327 of the top Pirate books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 19 titles, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Pirate” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 300+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 19 Pirate Books

19 .) Captain Blood written by Rafael Sabatini

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookbub
• Nerd Much
• Wikipedia

Peter Blood, an Irish physician and soldier in England in the 1680’s, is wrongly convicted of treason and sentenced to indentured slavery in the Caribbean. He escapes and becomes the most feared pirate captain on the Spanish Main, but all the glory of his adventures cannot help him, for the woman he loves cannot love a thief and pirate. Even when he destroys England’s enemies, even at his most triumphant…but wait! What’s that… Long Description: Peter Blood, an Irish physician and former soldier is happily settled, in the 1680’s, as the doctor in an English town, when the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth catches him by accident. He saves a man’s life, as a doctor must try to do, but the man is a rebel and the hanging Judge Jeffreys sentences him to ten years as an indentured slave in the Caribbean colonies. Once there, his knowledge as a physician is recognized, and thus he meets and falls in love with the daughter of the man who own his servitude; not likely to be a successful love story! A Spanish ship attacks the town, and while the Spaniards celebrate their victory he boldly steals their ship, and he and his fellow convicts sail off to become the boldest and most fearless of pirates among the islands and on the Spanish Main. But all the glory of his adventures cannot help him, for the woman he loves cannot love a thief and pirate. Even when he destroys England’s enemies, even at his most triumphant…but wait! Is that… The classic novel of adventure and romance, and one of Sabatini’s best.

18 .) Pirate Boy written by Eve Bunting

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Gift Of Curiosity
• My Storytime Corner

After reading his favorite book about a pirate boy, Danny wonders what would happen if he sailed away on a pirate ship. Luckily, his mother reassures him that she would find him, even if she had to ride on a dolphin, battle sea monsters, and wield a bottle of magical pirateshrinking spray to do it! Young readers will love this adventurous and ultimately reassuring tale of a mother’s love.

17 .) Pirate Latitudes written by Michael Crichton

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookbub
• Nerd Much
• Wikipedia

Jamaica in 1665 is a rough outpost of the English crown, a minor colony holding out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, Jamaica′s capital, a cut-throat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses, is devoid of London′s luxuries; life here can end swiftly with dysentery or a dagger in your back. But for Captain Charles Hunter it is a life that can also lead to riches, if he abides by the island′s code. In the name of His Majesty King Charles II of England, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking. And law in the New World is made by those who take it into their hands. Word in port is that the Spanish treasure galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is stalled in nearby Matanceros harbor awaiting repairs. Heavily fortified, the impregnable Spanish outpost is guarded by the blood-swiller Cazalla, a favorite commander of King Philip IV himself. With the governor′s backing, Hunter assembles a roughneck crew to infiltrate the enemy island and commandeer the galleon, along with its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloody legends of Matanceros suggest, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he finds himself on the island′s shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry are all that stand between him and the treasure. With the help of his cunning crew, Hunter hijacks El Trinidad and escapes the deadly clutches of Cazalla, leaving plenty of carnage in his wake. But his troubles have just begun. . . .

16 .) Pirate Pete’s Talk Like a Pirate written by Kim Kennedy

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Fun A Day
• The Kindergarten Connection

Popular Pete is Perfect for Talk Like a Pirate Day! Following the success of Pirate Pete and Pirate Pete’s Giant Adventure comes a new book by the celebrated brother-and-sister team of Doug and Kim Kennedy. In this new adventure, Pete has a wonderful new ship, but no crew. But not just any crew will do. As Pete explains: Ye gots to be stubborn and mighty cranky, Ye gots to be dirty and awfully stanky! Ye gots to load a cannon and know how to fire it, But most of all, ye gots to talk like a pirate!? One by one Pete interviews his potential crew, and one by one they get the boot! Whoever will he find to help him sail the high seas? A hilarious and fun-to-read-aloud book that will have every child talking like a pirate. Praise for the Pirate Pete books Family Choice Award ?Arrr, matey, tis a fine book indeed.Kansas City Star ?Lots of fun for pint-size buccaneers.Booklist ?Should keep young mateys anchored to their seats.Kirkus ?Clever dialogue, funny illustrations and just the right amount of suspense . . . simply terrific.The Dallas Morning News Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 9/1/2007 Pages: 40 Reading Level: Age 4 and Up

15 .) Pirates Don’t Change Diapers written by Melinda Long

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Fun A Day
• Gift Of Curiosity

When the pirate crew turns up at Jeremy Jacob’s house and accidentally wakes his baby sister, that wee scallywag howls louder than a storm on the high seas. Sure, there’s buried treasure to be found, but nobody’s digging up anything until Bonney Anne quits her caterwauling. So, quicker than you can say “scurvy dog,” Braid Beard and his swashbuckling pirates become . . . babysitters? Blimey! This hilarious companion to How I Became a Pirate reveals that minding the nursery can be even more terrifying than walking the plank–especially if you’re a pirate.

14 .) Pirates! written by Celia Rees

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookbub
• Read Breathe Relax
• The YA Shelf

Nancy Kington, daughter of a rich merchant, suddenly orphaned when her father dies, is sent to live on her family’s plantation in Jamaica. Disgusted by the treatment of the slaves and her brother’s willingness to marry her off, she and one of the slaves, Minerva, run away and join a band of pirates. For both girls the pirate life is their only chance for freedom in a society where both are treated like property, rather than individuals. Together they go in search of adventure, love, and a new life that breaks all restrictions of gender, race, and position. Told through Nancy’s writings, their adventures will appeal to readers across the spectrum and around the world.

13 .) Steel written by Carrie Vaughn

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes and Noble
• Read Breathe Relax
• The YA Shelf

It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her. This was the tip of a rapier. Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure. The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate’s life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain. Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.

12 .) The Night Pirates written by Peter Harris

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• My Storytime Corner
• Pirates Quest

A perfectly pitched, irresistibly charming read-aloud picture book for the youngest pirate enthusiasts! “Down, down, down the dark, dark street they came. Up, up, up the dark, dark house they climbed. Stealthy as shadows, quiet as mice. Only the moon was watching when they arrived. Only the moon was watching when they left. Only the moon & one little boy.” Tom is awoken by a band of rough, tough little girl pirates, so what does he do? He joins their ranks! Together they set sail in search of treasure. But what will happen when they meet a crew of rough, tough grown-up pirates? Readers will be swept up in the spare, jaunty text, & quirky illustrations in this unexpected bedtime adventure.

11 .) The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd written by Richard Zacks

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Nerd Much
• The Way Of The Pirates

A literary treasure, The Pirate Hunter is a masterpiece of historical detective work, and a rare, authentic pirate story for grown-ups. Captain Kidd has gone down in history as America’s most ruthless buccaneer, fabulously rich, burying dozens of treasure chests up and down the eastern seaboard. But it turns out that most everyone, even many respected scholars, have the story all wrong. Captain William Kidd was no career cut-throat; he was a tough, successful New York sea captain who was hired to chase pirates. His three-year odyssey aboard the aptly named Adventure galley pitted him against arrogant Royal Navy commanders, jealous East India Company captains, storms, starvation, angry natives, and, above all, flesh-and-blood pirates. Superbly written and impeccably researched, The Pirate Hunter is one ripping good yarn.

10 .) The Princess Bride written by William Goldman

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes and Noble
• Read Breathe Relax
• Wikipedia

What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be…well…a lot less than the man of her dreams? As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad’s recitation, and only the “good parts” reached his ears. Now Goldman does Dad one better. He’s reconstructed the “Good Parts Version” to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere. What’s it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex. In short, it’s about everything.

9 .) Tough Boris written by Mem Fox

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Flashlight Worthy Books
• My Storytime Corner

Boris von der Borch is a mean, greedy old pirate–tough as nails, through and through, like all pirates. Or is he? When a young boy sneaks onto Boris’s ship, he discovers that Boris and his mates aren’t quite what he expected.

8 .) Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates written by David Cordingly

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• History Lists
• The Way Of The Pirates

For this rousing, revisionist history, the former head of exhibitions at England’s National Maritime Museum has combed original documents & records to produce a most authoritative & definitive account of piracy’s Golden Age. As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. walking the plank is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complex & often bloodier.

7 .) Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean: The Adventurous Life of Captain Woodes Rogers written by David Cordingly

Lists It Appears On:

• Csp Historical
• Goodreads
• Nerd Much
• The Way Of The Pirates

6 .) The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down written by Colin Woodard

Lists It Appears On:

• Csp Historical
• Goodreads
• History Lists
• The Way Of The Pirates

The inspiration for the NBC series Crossbones. In the early eighteenth century a number of the great pirate captains, including Edward “Blackbeard” Teach and “Black Sam” Bellamy, joined forces. This infamous “Flying Gang” was more than simply a thieving band of brothers. Many of its members had come to piracy as a revolt against conditions in the merchant fleet and in the cities and plantations in the Old and New Worlds. Inspired by notions of self-government, they established a crude but distinctive form of democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which indentured servants were released and leaders chosen or deposed by a vote. They were ultimately overcome by their archnemesis, Captain Woodes Rogers—a merchant fleet owner and former privateer—and the brief though glorious moment of the Republic of Pirates came to an end. In this unique and fascinating book, Colin Woodard brings to life this virtually unexplored chapter in the Golden Age of Piracy.

5 .) A General History of the Pyrates written by Daniel Defoe

Lists It Appears On:

• Csp Historical
• Goodreads
• History Lists
• The Way Of The Pirates
• Wikipedia

Immensely readable history by the author of Robinson Crusoe incorporates the author’s celebrated flair for journalistic detail, and represents the major source of information about piracy in the early 18th century. Defoe recounts the daring and bloody deeds of such outlaws as Edward Teach (alias Blackbeard), Captain Kidd, Mary Read, Anne Bonny, many others.

4 .) Shiver Me Letters: A Pirate ABC written by June Sobel

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Fun A Day
• Gift Of Curiosity
• My Storytime Corner
• The Kindergarten Connection

The captain of this brave and bumbling pirate crew has ordered them to capture the entire alphabet–and they’ll walk the plank if they’re missing a single letter! Now these swashbuckling mateys are embarking on an alphabet adventure unlike any other, and they won’t (ahem, can’t) rest until they’ve found an A, a Z, and everything in between. June Sobel’s hilarious text and Henry Cole’s adventurous animal pirates harmonize in an irresistible book for alphabet-learning, pirate-loving kids everywhere.

3 .) On Stranger Tides written by Tim Powers

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes and Noble
• Bookbub
• Nerd Much
• Pirates Quest
• The YA Shelf
• Wikipedia

Aboard the Vociferous Carmichael, puppeteer John Chandagnac is sailing toward Jamaica to claim his stolen birthright from an unscrupulous uncle, when the vessel is captured . . . by pirates! Offered a choice by Captain Phil Davies to join their seafaring band or die, Chandagnac assumes the name John Shandy and a new life as a brigand. But more than swashbuckling sea battles and fabulous plunder await the novice buccaneer on the roiling Caribbean waters–for treachery and powerful vodun sorcery are coins of the realm in this dark new world. And for the love of beautiful, magically imperiled Beth Hurwood, Shandy will set sail on even stranger tides, following the savage, ghost-infested pirate king, Blackbeard, and a motley crew of the living and the dead to the cursed nightmare banks of the fabled Fountain of Youth.

2 .) Treasure Island written by Robert Louis Stevenson

Lists It Appears On:

• Bookbub
• Cambridge Blog
• Mommy Evolution
• Pirates Quest
• The YA Shelf
• Wikipedia

For sheer storytelling delight and pure adventure, Treasure Island has never been surpassed. From the moment young Jim Hawkins first encounters the sinister Blind Pew at the Admiral Benbow Inn until the climactic battle for treasure on a tropic isle, the nevel creates scenes and characters that have firetd the imaginations of generations of readers. Written by a superb prose stylist, a master of both action and atmosphere, the story centers upon the conflict between good and evil – but in this case a particularly engaging form of evil. It is the villainy of that most ambiguous rogue Long John Silver that sets the tempo of this tale of treachery, greed, and daring. Designed to forever kindle a dream of high romance and distant horizons, Treasure Island is, in the words of G. K. Chesterton, ‘the realization of an ideal, that which is promised in its provocative and beckoning map; a vision not only of white skeletons but also green palm trees and sapphire seas.’ G. S. Fraser terms it ‘an utterly original book’ and goes on to write: ‘There will always be a place for stories like Treasure Island that can keep boys and old men happy.’

1 .) How I Became a Pirate written by Melinda Long

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Flashlight Worthy Books
• Fun A Day
• Gift Of Curiosity
• My Storytime Corner
• Read Brightly
• The Kindergarten Connection

Pirates have green teeth—when they have any teeth at all. I know about pirates, because one day, when I was at the beach building a sand castle and minding my own business, a pirate ship sailed into view.So proclaims Jeremy Jacob, a boy who joins Captain Braid Beard and his crew in this witty look at the finer points of pirate life by the Caldecott Honor–winning illustrator David Shannon and the storyteller Melinda Long. Jeremy learns how to say “scurvy dog,” sing sea chanteys, and throw food . . . but he also learns that there are no books or good night kisses on board: “Pirates don’t tuck.” A swashbuckling adventure with fantastically silly, richly textured illustrations that suit the story to a T.

The 300+ Additional Best Books About Pirates

26 Best Pirate Book Sources/Lists