Customer Reviews

The Ghost in the Noonday Sun

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fleischman, in his witty style, writes a wonderful story about a young boy,Oliver, who is kidnapped and impressed into the service of the "Sweet Molly" which is later revealed as the Bloody Hand...devilish Captain Scratch's Pirate ship!
While doing research on pirates for my class, I came across this book. The characters are realistic and cause the reader to want to meet Jack o' Lantern and John Ringrose and avoid, at all costs, Cannibal! It's full of humor, facts, twists and turns. It's a true page-turner that 4-8 graders would enjoy and learn a thing or two about honesty, superstitions and the like!

Fleischman totally engaged me as a child, and impresses me as a teacher. (This isn't a kiddie book Precocious fourth and up could handle it.) Here he covers whaling 19th century New England while dishing up a funny, thrilling book using the archetypal spunky kid and errant dad combo that appears in many of his works.
Oliver is a self-sufficent boy whith an absent father. In the end, through his own ingeniuity and moral choices, he finds not only his actual father but a genuine father figure: The reluctant wanderer who ultimately does the right thing.
I think this is a fantastic book. My elementary students loved it read aloud. It is so lacking in condescension, so un-patronizing, it is an adult read as well.

Sid Fleischman is a wonderful story teller, who always writes books with such great imagination. It is very easy for children (and adults) to get wrapped up in the tales of his colorful characters. The Ghost in the Noonday Sun is one of his best pieces of work.

I thought this book was O.K. I think this because it was a good book overall, but some parts were hard to understand. Some of the language is older and words such as thee and thou are used.
The book is about a boy who is captured by pirates who believe that since he was born at the stroke of midnight he can see ghosts. They captured him because they are trying to find treasure that has a ghost buried on it.
I would recommend this book to any one who likes books about pirates or someone who likes fantasy books.

Fleischman totally engaged me as a child and impresses me as a teacher. (This isn't a kiddy book. Precocious fourth and up could handle it.) Here he covers whaling 19th century New England while dishing up a funny, thrilling book using the archetypal spunky kid and errant dad combo that appears in many of his works.
Oliver is a self-sufficient boy with an absent father. In the end, through his own ingenuity and moral choices, he finds not only his actual father but a genuine father figure: The reluctant wanderer who ultimately does the right thing.
I think this is a fantastic book. My elementary students loved it read aloud. It is so lacking in condescension, so UN-patronizing, it is an adult read as well.

With Ghost in the Noonday Sun, Sid Fleischman created another story that is a fun read and very memorable. Oliver, who was born
exactly at midnight, gets kidnapped by Captain Scratch to help find treasure that's supposedly guarded by ghosts. Scratch drafted young Oliver for the job because it was said that people born exactly at midnight can see ghosts. This story, as with By the Great Horn Spoon, definitely deserves multiple readings.

This is a light read for kids--no real meat for adults, but good fun, with surprise twists on every other page--even on the Same page! Fourteen-year-old Oliver Finch dreams of going to sea, instead of helping his aunt at a New England inn. Fortunately for him the sudden arrival of one Captain Scratch (truly the devil's agent or human kin) changes his landlubber life. Back then superstitious folk believed that people born at the stroke of midnight had the unique "gift" of seeing the ghosts of the dead.

This greedy, murderous villlain is obsessed with discovering the location of buried treasure on a remote isle. He authorizes cruel torture (is there any other kind?) to wring confessions from the doubtful but terrified boy. Oliver finds unexpected pirate allies on his nightmare voyage and sojourn on a dangerous tropical island. His aunt's cat proves an unlikely stowaway, but welcome companion in his misery. Can young Oliver deceive the bloodthirsty captain and his scumbag crew long enough to escape home? Great for junior high boys.

I picked up this book because I enjoyed The Whipping Boy and like good stories about pirates...I thought this book would be a perfect match for me.

I did enjoy the book, but it felt like it had no real content. The story is the traditional type. A bored young boy finds adventure on the high seas when he becomes unwillingly entangled with pirates. Sound familiar? I found myself constantly reminded of Treasure Island while reading this. If you're just looking for a pirate tale, you'll do better to pick that up.

However, if you've finished Treasure Island, and absolutely loved it...if you're stomping around the house shouting "Shiver me timbers!" and "Avast there, matey!", then you'll find this book to be enjoyable enough. Just don't expect anything too memorable or thrilling. An acceptable light read. It should be noted, too, that the book may appeal more to middle school boys than it did to me. I certainly am not within its target audience.