The Treasure of Snake Island
A Captain No Beard Story Volume 5
- 2014 INDIES Finalist
- Finalist, Picture Books, Early Reader (Children's)
Kids will learn about the possibilities for adventure found in books in this colorfully illustrated pirate tale.
Captain No Beard and his crew—sisters Hallie and Cayla, along with a variety of animated stuffed animals—discover that with teamwork and cooperation, treasures are attainable. Bright, busy illustrations help tell the fifth story in the Captain No Beard series by Carole P. Roman, The Treasure of Snake Island.
Young people will enjoy the characters, especially if they are familiar with the preceding four installments in the series. Baby Cayla is now a contributing member of the crew, and Polly the parrot shares her knowledge about sailors’ lore and why it is important to read books for information. The animal characters are all patterned after the colorful stuffed animals seen in Alexander’s bedroom at the end of the imagined story. This may encourage young people to make up their own stories about their stuffed animals.
The tale itself teaches the value of reading books and the importance of working together. During the storm predicted by Polly, all of the crew members cooperate, even baby Cayla. In the end, it is revealed that the voyage on the Flying Dragon was really an imaginary journey in the captain’s bedroom, but the trunk of books was real, full of literary surprises.
The characters occasionally talk like adults: “‘Well, every pirate knows that when the sky is red at night the sea will be calm and the weather will be nice,’ Polly told them. ‘We understand that’s a good thing,’ Mongo said with a shake of his head.”
Each page of text faces an eye-catching illustration. Though the images are bright, colorful, and interesting, they are occasionally busy and somewhat confusing. On one page, Hallie appears to be crying, but the text indicates she may actually be sweating.
Children who enjoy being read to and youngsters who like pirate tales are the perfect audience for this book.
Reviewed by
Lynn Evarts
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
