Customer Reviews

Pirate Diary Journal of Jake Carpenter

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A good read for young children with an interest in pirates. Written in diary fashion, it makes a good story to read to a child at bedtime with lots of convenient places to stop. The author uses a good deal of nautical terminology, but does a good job of explaining it all within the context of story.

The story revolves around the diary of a young boy off to sea for his first time. He ends up with pirates when his ship is captured and after a few adventures returns home to accept a pardon. Richard Platt has authored several children's books about pirates and does justice to the reality of life at sea and with pirates without getting too graphic.

The illustrations are entertaining pen drawings that contribute to the story, although the style takes a bit of getting used to (I'm still not sure I like it). The book also includes a brief overview of the history of piracy and some famous pirates. The index also doubles as a glossary of some of the terms used. P-)

I was concerned at first at the amount of text in this book, and it's written in a faux-early 18th century English style (but applied moderately, for atmosphere). Yet, my son loved hearing it read to him (ok, I do a fairly good pirate imitation, me buckos). He was interested in every diary entry, thanks to the structure of the narrative that poses problems and then surprising resolutions. The artwork is a big plus, too, with much to look at and discover. Recommended!

These diary books by Richard Platt are absolutely wonderful! I can't praise them highly enough as great works of historical fiction for young children. My five year old son couldn't get enough of Castle Diary. He loved it so much that I recently purchased the Pirate Diary for him. I didn't pay attention to editions or dimensions. I just purchased it. Well, it was tiny, about 5x6 compared to the large and lavish 10x13 first edition Castle Diary that we own. Also, instead of full page, full color illustrations there were black and white sketches here and there. So, I checked out the Castle Diary book again on Amazon and the same thing has been done. Look carefully at what you're ordering. The first editions are very large and gorgeously illustrated in full color with the text interspersed throughout. The editions available now are much smaller. They are mainly text with a few black and white sketches.

I am so saddened by what they have done to these books. In their original form, they are five star books for sure. I can only give four stars to the newer editions, however. The writing is the same but they have lost their picture book charm which made them accessible to younger kids. Even for older kids, however, a picture is worth a thousand words and would surely be greatly appreciated.

In short, I would rather own a used first edition of these books than a brand new copy of the modified version. I'll be returning this one and I've already ordered a copy of the first edition for my son. I do think the paperback of Pirate Diary is available in an 8x10 size. It looks like it might have the original content but you can't search inside. At any rate, I prefer a hardback. I just wanted to point out the difference to prospective buyers.