Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter - Softcover

Richard Platt has written more than thirty books, including many bestsellers, and is among the most prolific and successful nonfiction authors working today. His books include STEPHEN BIESTY'S CROSS-SECTIONS: CASTLE; STEPHEN BIESTY'S INCREDIBLE CROSS-SECTIONS; STEPHEN BIESTY'S INCREDIBLE EXPLOSIONS (which tied for the 1996 Cuffie Award for nonfiction with THE GREEK NEWS and THE ROMAN NEWS); STEPHEN BIESTY'S INCREDIBLE BODY; STEPHEN BIESTY'S INCREDIBLE EVERYTHING; IN THE BEGINNING; THE NEARLY COMPLETE HISTORY OF ALMOST EVERYTHING; DISASTER! CATASTROPHES THAT SHOOK THE WORLD; and the Eyewitness titles, FILM and SPY, among many others.

Chris Riddell’s glorious illustrations fill the pages of many wonderful books for children, including Richard Platt’s CASTLE DIARY, and Hans Christian Andersen’s THE SWAN'S STORIES, translated by Brian Alderson. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY called his illustrations for CASTLE DIARY "humorously dour" and "inspired."

The duo behind Castle Diary returns with a swashbuckling sortie into pirate waters. Set in 1716, the tale unfolds through the diary entries of a nine-year-old North Carolina lad who goes to sea with his uncle. Young Jake's excitement dims when wicked Captain Nick exacts a cruel penalty for clumsiness (Jake accidentally drops a bucket overboard), flogging his Uncle Will in Jake's stead and setting him adrift. The tables are turned, however, when pirates capture the ship and abandon Captain Nick on an island. Jake and his shipmates take up with their captors, and there are adventures aplenty, including a mermaid sighting, a storm, a raid on a Spanish camp and an eventual reunion with Will. With seeming effortlessness, Platt weaves vast quantities of nautical information into a text as lively as it is absorbing ("In pirates' slang there are one hundred words for `drunk' and just one for `sober' "). While he does not romanticize piracy, the author displays a keen eye for the sort of gorier details that young buccaneers will relish, e.g., the primitive surgery performed by the ship's carpenter. Making exuberant use of the oversize format, Riddell's illustrations include spot illustrations, dramatic full-page and full-spread scenes and a detailed cutaway view of the ship. With their verve and puckish humor, they easily transport readers to high times on the high seas. Ages 9-13.

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