Quest for the Lost Treasure (Interactive Pirate Adventure in a Beautifully Illustrated Picture Book, for Ages 3-8) [Kindle Edition]

Gerry Gaston (Author), Laura Livi (Illustrator)

Book Description

"Choose Your Own Path" Pirate Adventure for Ages 3-8!

Your epic journey begins when a band of Pirates raid your village and you set out to track down the thieving pirates and recover the lost gold and jewels. The unique interactive format allows you to control the progress of the story, as it is being told! Will you dare to explore what's behind the closed door, or play it safe and escape up the stairway?

"What a great way to get your kids involved in reading! The graphics in this short story are really stunning with bright colors and a lush look to them." ~PT Cruiser

"I highly recommend this book to beginning readers as well as to those parents and other caregivers who are trying to encourage reading in their young children." ~Loretta Gilbert

"My boys have read this book a second time now and have asked if I could keep it on the Kindle. If you are looking for a way to get your child excited about reading, this is a great book to begin with. Loved it." ~Ionia Martin

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gerry Gaston is a freelance writer and engineer. His years of participating in role-playing adventure games, combined with his enjoyment of choose your own adventure books, motivated his efforts to create a new interactive format for children. His visually innovative storyline selection technique provides for a unique book reading experience. He lives with his family, cats and ferrets in Arkansas.

Product Details

• File Size: 2997 KB
• Print Length: 50 pages
• Publisher: Project A Publishing, LLC (September 2, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00959YHV0
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,923 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #39 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Children's eBooks > Ages 4-8

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bright and colorful graphics September 16, 2012

By PT Cruiser TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition

What a great way to get your kids involved in reading! This ebook has interactive features which allow a child (or adult) to click on a tab at the top, bottom or sides of each page to choose their route to finding a lost treasure. For example, you could choose "Look behind the door" or "Climb up the ladder" or "Go through the passage". It's quite clever and a great way to get a child involved and to get them reading, since they have to read what's on the page to decide what to do next. On some pages there is only one choice but on others, there are two or three. Clicking on the tab takes you to a new location with the situation described on that page. The path you decide on taking to the hidden treasure will determine how the story plays out. At the end, there is the option to start over and try again.

The graphics in this short story are really stunning with bright colors and a lush look to them. The characters are cute and the environments detailed. I would guess that the reading level is at least 2nd or 3rd grade but you can see some sample pictures of pages in the Customer Images section that would help you determine that. This ebook would be a great way to introduce your child to one of the new Kindle Fire HD 8.9", Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, 16 GB and to discover how much fun it is to read on these devices.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A marvelous introduction to graphical interactive stories for kids September 16, 2012

By J. Chambers TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Interactive fiction has been popular for decades, but only in the computer age has it really blossomed. I remember reading interactive novels back in the 1970s, when they were text-based. For example, if you selected the "Enter the cave" choice, you were told to turn to a certain page number and continue reading. Later, with computers came text games like "Zork," where you gave simple commands, and the software responded with the outcome. Only more recently have the games added color graphics to make them more enjoyable to play.

"Quest for the Lost Treasure" is a marvelous introduction to interactive fiction for kids. The colorful cartoon-like graphics are very well done, and the story is interesting, with just enough tension and suspense to keep a kid's attention for the relatively short time required to complete the story. There are no dead-ends to dampen a kid's enjoyment, and even if they don't make the best choice from multiple options, the storyline tends to loop back to the right track.

I've read several complex text-only interactive fiction novels, and I enjoyed them very much, with their numerous possible outcomes, but younger kids would not enjoy these, and some of them have adult themes anyway. "Quest for the Lost Treasure," however, is clearly aimed at kids, and it's perfect for introducing them in a fun way to graphical interactive stories.

I read "Quest for the Lost Treasure" on a Kindle Fire HD, where it ran smoothly with no problems.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning graphics September 10, 2012

By A. Herzman

Format:Kindle Edition

This book is great for any child starting out to read. The graphics are colorful and detailed which makes it less boring than just a text book. The story itself is quite clever. The reader can actually imagine being part of the book with real choices and decisions to make for the story to progress.. There are a few dead-ends, that may get frustrating to a child if it causes them to end up going in circles. The story is not too long for a shorter attention span. Because there are choices to make, the book can be read more than once and not be the same. I think this book is well worth the money, because it will encourage young people to read in a unique and positive way. It isn't "dumbed down" and actually stimulates the imagination. I hope other stories will follow in this unique format. Well done!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully illustrated pre-school/young child interactive adventure... 5 Stars December 24, 2012

By R. Nicholson TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition

"Quest for the Lost Treasure" is an interactive preschool-young child book by author Gerry Gaston
This Kindle e-book was a 2997 Kb download (approx. 50 printed pages) and was free (normally $1.99) at the time of writing this review.

Please Note:
1.) the author provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
2.) the author states in the product description, both correctly and honestly, that this work is a "Choose Your Own Path" Pirate Adventure for Ages 3-8.

Some thoughts on "Quest...

1.) a story that would probably be very exciting to the intended age group.

2.) beautifully illustrated with vibrant colors and large easy to see/read pictures and words respectively.

3.) no violence or graphic descriptions anywhere that would frighten a small child.

4.) a series of choices at the end of each page that would let the child make a decision and in-turn uncover some new and exciting (to them) areas. (again non-threatening)

5.) the readable wording on each page is quite short... done intentionally I'm sure to accommodate the short attention span of the intended age group.

Impression:
A preschool/young child book that is well done, with colorful pictures, simplistic word and decision making geared for that age grouping.

This book in not violent or threatening in any way.

As it is... 5 Stars.

Ray Nicholson
[e-mail]

More About the Author

Gerry Gaston is a freelance writer and engineer. His years of participating in role-playing adventure games, combined with his enjoyment of choose your own adventure books, motivated his efforts to create a new interactive format for children. His visually innovative storyline selection technique provides for a unique book reading experience. He lives with his family, cats and ferrets in Arkansas.