Customer Reviews

Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow: The Tale of Billy Turner and Other Stories (Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow (Unnumbered))

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

 

 

I am writing this review for my 7 year old son who has just finished reading the entire published set of the Jack Sparrow books. Here is what he has to say...They were all really cool. They had great endings, too. There are lots of creatures in each book like the evil mermaids in book two, mutated lizards in book four and the Krakan that is also in book two. They are really neat books and people should buy them.

This book was a fun read, however the story was a bit short, we never get to when Billy meets Jack or after that when he starts a family. It was cool to learn about Boostrap's back story and how he met Arabella. overall I liked this book.

I bought these books for my 12yr old daughter. She's a huge POTC fan & has gobbled these books down. Now she has the whole set (9 in all). She enjoyed them immensely & wishes more were available.

THIS BOOK TELLS THE TALE OF BILLY TURNER(BEFORE HE WAS KNOWN AS "BOOTSTRAP BILL"). HIS LIFE WAS VERY BLAND UNTIL SOMETHING ODD AND TERRIBLE HAPPENS AT SEA FORCED HIM TO LEAVE HIS HOME AND FAMILY. HE'S THRUST INTO A WORLD OF PIRATES! HE THEN REALIZES HIS WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!

For being short and quick, Rob Kidd's JACK SPARROW series actually ends up being pretty action-packed and downright fun reading. Even if each book only takes about a half-hour to read. At the end of the 12-book series, Kidd released THE TALE OF BILLY TURNER AND OTHER STORIES, a "swashbuckling super special" complete with a full book-length story, five shorts, and character profiles.

As the title suggests, the book centers on Billy Turner and how he came to be involved with the likes of Jack Sparrow and the rest of the crew of the Fleur de la Mort. With families starving on his home, the Isle of Man, Billy is sent to America. But along the way he faces pirate crews, the Royal Navy, and a vicious secret lurking in the waters and just waiting for the right moment to strike. Can Billy survive long enough just to make it out alive?

Kidd gives us a fairly fun pirate romp with some familiar faces, like Mr. Gibbs, Arabella, Jean, and of course that mangy cat, Constance. The plot moves a little more slowly in the beginning than many of the other books, but quickly speeds up. The only complaint I really had is that the climax felt a little bit like a rehash of some of the books in the JACK SPARROW series, especially later on when many of the books featured massive pirate battles. Kidd turns back to this formula, and by the end, I felt that I had read some of these scenes before. But all said, it was still a fun ride.

The five short stories are each little snapshot chapters that were either deleted from earlier books in the series, or fill in a few small gaps here and there. The best by far is "The Mermaid Key" which explains a few details from books eleven and twelve, POSEIDON'S PEAK and BOLD NEW HORIZONS. The character profiles follow, with illustrations of the major villains and heroes of the books, along with quick stats on their origins and key appearances.

I must say I'm sad to have come to the end of what's turned out to be an extremely fun pirate series. Hopefully Rob Kidd will keep providing us with more fun adventures, whether they be on the high seas or elsewhere.

My two boys, one age 6 the other age 8, love these books. I read a couple chapters a night to them before bed. I was so surprised at how much they remembered the following night and how excited they were to have me read to them...actually at some times begging me to to read more! We have completed the whole series now . It was a great introduction to chapter books for them and one day they want to read them independantly! I recomend them to any boy they are packed with adventure and just all around great books.

My Son is 10 years old. I have been pushing him to read for a long time. He started out reading one, and ask me to buy the rest for him. he reads every night for 1hr. Just the other day I heard him say maybe he will read 2 hrs a night. I was so happy to hear that. I thought I could never break him away from all his Video games.