Customer Reviews

Treasure Island (The Illustrated Children's Library)

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

 

 

Sure, Treasure Island is a great story, but the question you *should* have is which version of this great book should you buy?

I bought this version because I wanted illustrations for my 6YO daughter. I was expecting at least as many illustrations as the Illustrated Junior Library version. This version, even though it's "Illustrated Children's Library", is disappointingly sparsely illustrated.

The book itself is nicely bound with a helpful bookmark. But be forewarned, do not buy this version if you want illustrations.

This wonderfully crafted edition of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic adventure story is great for any serious reader of classic literature. It's also great for kids. Who can ever forget Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver, or Ben Gunn or the unique bond that forms between the wise youth (Hawkins) and experienced seaman (Silver)? Murder on the high seas. Violent battles on an island full of treasure. People who actually talk the way real people talk. It's all here and more. TREASURE ISLAND is one of my favorite Stevenson stories and I highly reccommend it.

A chapter a night and it was thrilling. I had never read this or had it read to me as a child. She was enjoying the movie, "Muppets Treasure Island" and was asking about the characters. I mentioned the original book and she wanted me to get it for her - the original with the original pictures. This is what I ordered and she and I have really enjoyed reading this classic.

I have to admit, reading it aloud is a bit of a challenge with the original version, silently is much easier - I don't get tounge-tied. It's been worth the "struglle." She laughs at the old words and asks what they mean. This slows it down a bit -- but adds to her enjoyment and understanding. It makes me happy she takes such an interest in the original version and learning more about the quirky English language.

I would highly recommend this to add to your family's collection.

Jim Hawkins is an 1880's English boy, who lives along the English coast in his father's inn, the Admiral Benbow. He has a perfectly normal life, until the mysterious Billy Bones comes to stay at the inn. Then, Billy dies after a fight with a strange caller. Among his possessions, Jim finds an old treasure map. Along with the Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey, Jim sails off to Treasure Island. Unfortunately, the crew of the ship they go on is not as trustworthy as first thought. Jim discovers that they are really pirates, and soon he and the few honest men on board are made victims of a mutiny. Now, they must embark on a quest to get to the treasure before the crew and to stay alive in the process.
Stevenson does a wonderful job of describing the appearances of people and places, creating vivid, colorful, and well-defined images of what he is talking about. Long John Silver, one of Stevenson's many characters, is an example of the author's amazing abilities to describe, in this case not only appearance, but in personality. I felt like I knew him inside out. Other characters are also very well described. That's not all that's good about this book. Treasure Island is a very captivating story. It immediately drew me in with its old style of writing (it was written in the 1880's) and great plot.
This is a great novel and, while it carries no strong message, is a great way to use up your free time. I recommend this wonderful story to anyone who enjoys adventure, danger, and would like to go and hunt for buried treasure.

--Jabbermonkey Fitsgerald

I gave this as a gift to my daughter. It is a beautiful edition. I'm so glad we have it in our home.

Ready for an adventure story? I certainly haven't read one in awhile. How about a story filled with sea adventures, pirates, and treasures? I liked Pirates of the Caribbean, but that was a movie, and now I'm ready for a book with similar fare. Rediscover the old classic Treasure Island written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1880 for his son. In Treasure Island, young Jim Hawkins is "full of sea dreams and the most charming anticipation of strange islands and adventures". Jim spends hours pouring over a treasure map, never once imagining how strange and tragic his adventures would actually be. Yet they are. For they are filled with murders and betrayals.

Perhaps Jim should have anticipated how "dark and bloody" the sojourn on Treasure Island would be. After all, in the several months prior to his journey, he witnesses two threats and two deaths in connection with the treasure. An old seaman named Bill takes up lodging at the family inn and pays them from his chest with a few pieces of gold. One January morning, a pale and tallowy creature named Black Dog visits the old seaman to chat. A battle ensures and Black Dog flees, but only after injuring Bill's shoulder. Not long after, Bill is threatened by a second seafaring visitor. This blind man by the name of Pew inflicts Bill with the Black Spot and apparently tells him he will return at ten o'clock. Bill doesn't live that long, but Pew returns with seven or eight enemies to raid Bill's possessions. Upon discovering that the family has fled, taking Bill's treasure map and some of his gold (as recompense for unpaid bills), Pew and his men head out in search of them. They encounter several riders on horseback, and attempt to flee, but Pew accidentally dashes under the nearest oncoming horse. Pew falls, collapses on his face, and moves no more.

If you haven't already figured out yet from the previous paragraph, the book Treasure Island is filled with a dizzying array of characters. There is Bill, our old seaman with a treasure map, whose coat is soiled, hands are ragged and scarred, nails are broken and black, voice is tottering, and who fears other seafarers for good reason. There is Black Dog, the pale tallowy creature, who lacks two fingers on his left hand, wears a cutlass, smacks of the sea, and both fawns and sneers. There is Captain Flint, the blind man, who has a horrible soft voice, grip like a vice, and swears. These are some of the bad guys. Then there is Dr. Livesey, who is neat and bright with black eyes and pleasant ways. And there is Squire Trelawney, who is tall and broad, has a rough face, and black brows. These are some of the good guys. There are also Jim's parents, the sea crew, the marooned Ben Gunn, and perhaps the most famous characters of the book: our hero Jim Hawkins and the ship's cook Long John Silver. Yet as you can see from my brief descriptions, Stevenson made all of his characters come alive.

One more thing about the book riveted me: the atmosphere. Jim and his mother are searching Bill's room after he dies for his money, when a sudden noise startles them. Captain Flint will return at ten o'clock. It is only six. They search Bill and find around his neck the key to his chest. They are counting our their dues when they hear "in the silent frosty air ... the tap-tapping of the blind man's stick upon the frozen road". It strikes sharp on the inn's door. The handle is turned. The bolt is rattled. The blind man leaves. Jim and his mother retreat. Not long after, they hear the sound of several footsteps running, see a light tossing to and fro....

As a young person, Treasure Island is one of the few books on my shelf that somehow I resisted reading each time I picked up a new book. My dad recently picked it as his choice for our family book reading. Now I finally know why the book is considered the classic adventure story!

The introduction to the book is a lot of fun. You get to know about the behavior and ways of a pirate told through the perspective of Jim Hawkins and the new mysterious tenant.

Jim Hawkins is a boy who works at a bar/motel with his guardians (not his parents). And the new arrival at the motel doesn't seem to be a simple drifter, and lives there for a long period of time. Later on we learn that he is actually a pirate, and tells Jim of the treasure that awaits anybody who seeks it, and gives him a treasure map (kind of). And of course Jim leaves home after other events which happened after that I cannot tell without ruining the story. Jim goes to the harbor and looks for a person to help him with his situation.

He eventually finds a few people who have a ship and they arrange for a big crew of about 30 people, without their knoledge of what the expedition is for and only that they would be paid...or so they thought. It turned out that Jim Hawkins and his loyal friends brought a crew of pirates who actually are aware of what they are searching for. They are lead by a man with a one legged named Long John Silver who Jim actually becomes friends with until Silver betrays the young Jim. After the betrayal, Jim and all his loyal friends retreat to the forest to regroup and ultimately start a war with the pirates.

The action is pure fun, with guns and explosions, you can totally believe the battle scenes and the conflict. There are many new words that you can learn by reading this, and have fun with. The only criticism is that theres a lot of pauses in the book before the big parts, so patience is neccesary. But my overall thought of this book is that it made the reader want to know what happens to the betrayed crew after the each chapter, and made you keep reading through all the pauses.

A fun book once you get through all the slow pacing, then you can really enjoy this book and what it truly has, A Fun Book.

Treasure island is the famous classic stroy by R. L. Stevenson.
The reader can share the adventures of Jim Hawkin with excitement and close interest. The adventure hardcores cann't miss it.