Quest For The Lost Treasure

Written by Gerry Gaston

Illustrated by: Laura Livi

The story line of this book is a simple one. At the outset the reader is given a challenge. A gang of pirates has invaded and sacked your village depleting it of all valuables. You alone have the courage and determination to sail across the seas, track them down and relieve them of those treasures! At last your rowboat arrives and you have the pirate ship in sight. Let the adventure begin!

This book is an interactive, choose your path e book. On each of the approximately fifty pages, the reader is given two choices. Unfortunately, the child is often redirected back to a page that has already been read. Eventually, the explorer is lead to the pirate treasure regardless of the choices he makes along the way. The authors suggest that the book is appropriate for ages three to eight. The vivid, bold and animated illustrations by Livi are stunning, but the text is somewhat rambling and difficult for a young child to follow. Here is one example, “As the ship rocks slowly and the waves gently lap against its hull, your mind tells you not to trust your instincts, because the calmness could be deceiving.” In addition, the complexity of vocabulary would inhibit a younger child from independent reading. Words like plundered, anxiety, dangling and abandoned are not easily explained by the illustrations alone.

I read this book on a Kindle Fire HD. The pictures were brilliant and the interactive tabs worked fine. Some reviewers complained of having difficulty reading the text because it was printed in white and the print too small. Reviews on the book on amazon run the gamut from five to one stars, I would place it right in the middle. I feel there is a place for interactive readers with rich illustration and simple plot lines, especially for reluctant readers. Certainly, a pirate adventure story that allows the child to choose his own solution is something such a reader would enjoy. But don’t expect a child younger than eight to succeed in reading this book on his own. The long sentences and more difficult word meanings will necessitate that a parent or teacher will need to provide assistance.

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Pirates, Pirates! (A Rogue’s Tale)

Written by Saoirse O’Mara
Cover by Svenja Liv

This is the third book in a series: The Lost Diadem (Part 1) and Trouble in the Mage Guild (Part II) preceding this volume. I did not read the first two, but had no trouble picking up the fantasy adventure in this newest release.

Tayla is a young teen living in Davon. She had previously met Govon when she picked his pocket to obtain money in a desperate attempt to survive. Govon is also struggling to support himself. They become friends. After an adventure to find the lost diadem, he becomes apprenticed to Dalen as a trainee for the City Guard. Tayla is adopted by a tavern owner and his family. In this third adventure, the story opens with Tayla witnessing a sailor being beaten on the docks. She brings him to her friend Larissa, a priestess in the Temple. Unfortunately, he dies before he can explain who attacked him. Tayla asks Govon for help in solving the mystery, but she is upset and dismayed when he informs her that he is too busy preparing for his final evaluation to help her. So Tayla is determined to find answers on her own. Larissa and her friend Katia vow to assist her. Things get murkier as a merchant ship is attacked, and a prominent woman citizen is beaten. Tayla goes undercover and lurks in the taverns spying on sailors trying to uncover who is behind the plot. Will she be successful? Who is behind the murder? What do pirates have to do with the plot? Will Tayla be reconciled with Govon?

This is a perfect fantasy adventure for tweens and young adults. It touches upon many of the issues they are grappling with in their lives. O’Mara addresses loyalty, family bonds, hard work, friendship and the search to discover right and wrong. The characters are well developed and the story line moves along quickly with just enough twists and turns to keep things interesting. The beautiful cover art captures the mood and setting. The length is under 120 pages so it will not deter a middle grade reader. Perfect book for a rainy afternoon. Hope to see more from this talented writer.

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SAILING THE SEVEN SEAS

The Illustrated Life of Blackbeard

by: Charles River Editions

This book is part of  History For Kids series aimed at children in the middle grades. As is the case with other books in the series there are engravings, drawings and paintings. There are no maps of the voyages which would have been helpful. The editors attempt to separate the facts from the myth which is difficult to do because of the paucity of information.

Chapter One begins by telling us Blackbeard’s real name, Edward Teach, and how he might have been born in either Jamaica or Bristol, England around 1680. Teach learned how to become a sailor by serving in the British Navy during Queen Anne’s War. He attacked French ships and soon discovered how  to become a pirate. Later when the war was over, he moved to the island of New Providence on the Atlantic Ocean and worked for the pirate leader, Benjamin Hornigold. Together they attacked Spanish and Portuguese ships for  bounty of wine and flour. They then met a pirate named Stede Bonet who allowed Teach to captain a ship called the Revenge. These two men later broke with Hornigold because he would not attack the British. When the pirates captured a French slave ship that had 40 cannons, Teach assumed command of 150 pirates. Shortly after they attacked a ship named Margaret, its captain, Henry Bostock,  told the governor about Teach describing his long black beard. That is how he got the name, Blackbeard.

Legends about Teach continued to grow and by 1718, the British Royal Navy actively hunted him. Blackbeard feigned repentance and asked for the governor’s protection. His ship ran aground; but many think he wanted to sink his ship to split up the pirates and keep more treasure for himself. Blackbeard did not give up being a pirate as he had promised. He sailed up and down the Atlantic coast searching for ships to plunder. The governor of Virginia, Robert Maynard, chased him up and down the coastal seas. Would Blackbeard finally be caught or would he continue to plunder?

This book is not as well written as the others in this series. At times it appears as if the writers are stringing together information rather than telling a life story. The book does its job in introducing students to the real Edward Teach.

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Five Fun Rhyming Boys Stories: Best Sellers Collection

by: Lily Lexington

This review is being done on the Kindle edition of five of Lily Lexington’s most popular stories. They are advertised as being boy’s stories, but I would not restrict them to one gender. While the themes of the books are traditionally viewed as male, the lessons imparted can be absolutely applied to both sexes.

In the first story, Danny is a geeky nerd whose wish it is to be a hero. As soon as his mother leaves his bedside, Danny becomes a knight who must slay beasts and rescue a princess. Only the princess proves to be anything but a damsel in distress!  Danny learns a lot about friendship.

The second book features a boy named Jack and his dinosaur friend who does not like to eat vegetables. Of course Jack does not eat them in support of his friend. When mom decides there is nothing else in the house to eat but vegetables, Jack and his dinosaur go about their day at play and learn important lessons about good nutrition.

In the third book we meet two very competitive brothers who both have dinosaur pets. They have planned a great race riding on their dinosaurs. When trouble arises, they each think that they have a better solution, but to their surprise neither of them can win alone. Will they be able to save themselves and solve the problem?

Six pirate friends are the characters in the fourth book. Though close friends each of them have very different personalities. They could not agree where to sail their pirate ship. Worse than that, the pirates had run out of food! So the wise pirate finally takes matters into his own hands and sets sail while the rest sleep. When they awake in a strange place, they will have to learn a valuable lesson if they are going to survive.

The last selection features Billy; a brave little cowboy who does not like to bathe. He goes to bed and rides his horse to rescue a little girl’s cat. The poor cat has been trapped in the bank by a smelly bank robber! Will he be successful in his quest and what price will Billy have to pay?

All of the stories are written in rhyme. Preschool children will enjoy them being read aloud. Older children in the primary grades should be able to manage reading them independently. These books are a good choice for parents with siblings of different ages. Illustrations are simple, colorful, clear and explicit, displaying exactly the messages that the characters wish to impart.

This is a fun collection and a good investment.

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Review of: Captain Snatchit’s Parrot: Three Pirate Stories

Author: Emma Laybourn

This book actually consists of three separate adventure stories. Each of the books is set up as a chapter book. There is a lot of colorful, pirate language especially in the first book of the trilogy. Many children will love this feature even though it will make independent reading of the book more difficult. In the first book, which is titled The Pirate’s Parrot, we meet Neptune, Captain Snatchit’s mistreated parrot. When the ship is attacked, the pirates man the life boats and Neptune is cast off on his own. Just when he is at the point of exhaustion, Neptune spies an island which is inhabited by parrots and monkeys. He settles into a normal life with friends and fun. But soon after a ship is spied on the horizon and the parrots will have to find a way to dispose of the pirates.

In the second story called Captain Snatchit’s Revenge, the captain realizes he has been outwitted and finds a way to get back to the island by hijacking a fishing boat. The crafty parrots must again find a way to trick the pirates and sink their ship.  The fishermen suffer the loss of their fishing boat, but the parrots are sure they are rid of  those pirates for good this time!

Book Three is named The Wreck of the Seahag. The pirates return with a salvage ship ready to raise the Seaslug. Neptune realizes that Captain Snatchit will not give up. He despairs but Liana urges him on implying that they are smarter and can outwit him.  All the inhabitants of the island work together to come up with a clever scheme to defeat the pirates. Will they finally succeed in their mission and regain their peaceful home?  The book is an adventure filled with moral lessons. Underlying the story are  lessons like the value of team work and cooperation, the need to be honest, truthful, and courageous, the need to be strong, and not give in to your weaknesses.

The structure of the story allows the reader to stop at the end of each book or read it in one sitting. It is suitable for a read aloud or can be developed into a series of classroom discussions.  I recommend it as independent reading for ages five and six. Younger children will enjoy the simple pictures and the story when accompanied by the explanations of parent or teacher. As a bonus, you may visit the author’s website http://megamousebooks.com/puzzlepageslist.html to download a free pirate crossword puzzle!

Available at http://freekidsbooks.org/  for download, printing or as an e reader.