Pirate Queen, Helaine Becker
Pirate Queen, Helaine Becker
List: $7.99 | Sale: $5.60
Club: $3.99

Pirate Queen
A Story of Zheng Yi Sao

Author: Helaine Becker

Narrator: Catherine Ho

Unabridged: 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 03/03/2020


Synopsis

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

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

When she was ready to retire, the pirate queen surrendered — on her own terms, of course.
Zheng Yi Sao’s story is told in lyrical prose by award-winning author Helaine Becker. Liz Wong’s
colorful, engaging illustrations capture the courage and grit of this remarkable woman.
An author’s note provides historical context and outlines the challenges of researching a figure about
whom little is known.

Reviews

Goodreads review by nitya on March 29, 2021

"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......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on April 18, 2021

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 mak......more

Goodreads review by Celise on August 26, 2023

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.......more

Goodreads review by Elizabeth on September 08, 2020

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, an......more

Goodreads review by Chantal Aurora on February 15, 2020

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......more