Blackbeard's Treasure

Gr 5–7—The four Bakker cousins are spending their summer at a camp in the Outer Banks. On the first night, the children learn about Blackbeard by way of a detailed fireside tale from a counselor. The next day, they explore the town. While the girls shop, the boys visit a museum where they meet an "Old Salt" named Jim Hawkins. He is involved with several researchers who are searching for the wreckage of Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge. Soon the Bakkers join the deep-sea expeditions and thus become entangled in the dangerous rivalry with a competing company, McBride Salvage. During this time the children take many risks, such as diving with potentially damaged equipment and sneaking out of their camp for a night. Despite being forbidden to return on the boat outings, they sneak aboard twice without consequence and under great risk. In the end, everything works out, and the wreckage of Queen Anne's Revenge is discovered. Unfortunately, this book suffers from many typographical errors, a lack of character development, and inconsistencies in the plot's time line.—Laura Butler, Mount Laurel Library, NJ