One day, we saw a treasure ship. Up went our black flag. They fired their guns. We fired back. They tried to escape, but we were too fast...These graphic and colorful 48-page books meet Common Core genre requirements and feature a fictional story, two pages of nonfiction, and two pages of activities, giving students some background knowledge necessary to understanding historical events. Using fiction to amplify history also allows students to think critically about the past --and piques curiosity, leading to further exploration and discovery.