The Pirate Queen by Emily Arnold McCully

The story, The Pirate Queen by Emily Arnold McCully would be considered a biography.  The book tells the story of Grania O'Malley's life.  Grania was a pirate starting at a young age.  She headed up her own army at the age of 16 and continued to apply her passion for pirating through out her life.  The story of her life peaks when she is shut down by King Richard Bingham.  Grania was seconds away from being hanged and then saved by a friend who spoke in her honor.  With Grania's ships and army destroyed, she goes to Queen Elizabeth I to get backing to defend the crown which will allow her to fight against Bingham and his army.  The queen gives Grania the backing and support she needs as well as  ownership of her late husbands land.  Grania later dies in battle.  Grania's visit to Queen Elizabeth made it possible for people to know of her existence and accomplishments because of an eighteen question interview she went through before meeting with the queen.  I would use this book when explaining biographies in the classroom.  I think that it would be a strong attention grabber for the students because it contains a girl pirate.  The students will be intrigued to hear more about the pirates accomplishments.

Note:  This is a Biography book