"SEA QUEENS: WOMEN PIRATES AROUND THE WORLD" by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Christine Joy Pratt; Charlesbridge, ages 9-12, $15.95

When Hawai'i artist Christine Joy Pratt was asked to illustrate this new title by children's book author Jane Yolen, "I did not know who Jane Yolen was," Pratt confesses. But, she adds, "I have an idea now."

Yolen, with more than 200 books to her credit, has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the 20th century. Yolen's books and stories have won the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, two Christopher Medals, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards, the Golden Kite Award, the Jewish Book Award and the Association of Jewish Libraries Award.

Yolen is also a new fan of Christine Joy Pratt's.

"I love the energy of Chrissy's scratchboard illustrations, which are just perfect for the book," Yolen said by e-mail. "The design, which wraps the text around those wonderful illustrations, also adds to the overall look. And I absolutely adore the cover."

Behind the striking female-pirate-on-a-seahorse illustration on the book's cover are the stories of 13 female pirates. They begin with Artemisia, from Persia, who lived in 500 B.C. and was so good at pirating that, "the Athenians offered a prize of ten thousand drachma to anyone who captured her."

The latest chapter is dedicated to Madame Ching of the early 19th century.

Yolen writes, "The most successful pirate in the world was a woman named Madame Ching, who sailed the South China Sea in the early 1800s. Madame Ching married an old sailing captain, Ching I, in 1801. Because of a great famine in China, Ching I and his twelve sailors stole food. They were so successful that they began stealing silks, spices, and gold. Their one boat soon became fifty boats." By 1807, after the death of Ching I, Madame Ching commanded a total of two thousand boats and 70,000 men, "the most any pirate in the world ever led."

While the story of Madame Ching was well documented, much of the books' material is not. Yolen writes, "There is so much storytelling, exaggeration, and just plain lying about the pirate trade that it's hard to say with absolute certainty that all the women pirates on these pages are real."

This made Pratt's job of illustrating the work a serious challenge.

"I spent a lot of time at Kane'ohe Library pestering folks," Pratt said. "I just tried to identify the era that they were in and be inspired by art from that time, or architecture from that time. I tried to put in symbolic, meaningful things."

Pratt's meticulous research paid off. "Sea Queens" received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, noting, "This volume is very prettily produced, with Pratt's gorgeous pen-and-ink-on-scratchboard illustrations and tailpieces."

The book concludes with an extensive bibliography and Web site addresses for those who want to learn more. This beautiful contribution to the subject is sure to encourage kids to do further research.

Jolie Jean Cotton is a Honolulu freelance writer. Her reviews of children's books appear here on the first Sunday of the month.