This is going to be a perfect read to the second graders during the scary month of October. ( )

Just fine for a young reluctant reader. I think pirates are over-rated and over-used, but this is mostly just funny. ( )

........Book study
.....pg/chap Words in Chap pix/chap
ch 1 8 594 4
ch 2 15 1872 5
ch 3 67 6369 25
ch 4 10 927 3
Totals 100 9762= bk word count 37 total illustrations. Pen & ink.
Setting: Current time in Duncade, Ireland, family vacations
POV: Will, 9 y/o, 2nd oldest brother
Main characters: 5 brothers, Mom & Dad.
Nemesis, antagonist: Big brother. ( )

Nine year old Will and his older brother Marty, travel with their two younger brothers and parents to a coastal town famous for being haunted by a pirate from long ago. Marty likes to scare Will at night with his stories of Captain Crow. One night they go to a dance together. Their parents make them promise two things: first they must go straight to and from the dance with no side stops. And second, they must agree not to go on the rocks that border the ocean. They agree and off they set. Will is among the youngest set of children at the dance and so he is rebuked by every dance partner. At the end of the night he play a game with the other younger children and wins the prize, a fake set of teeth that are supposedly Captain Crow’s. Before leaving for home, Marty says he wants to give a girl a ride home on his bike, so that Marty must walk. But to make it on time, he must walk over the rocks. Will objects but Marty wins the battle of wills and Will is forced to walk over the rocks to make it home on time. But this was all an elaborate ruse by Marty to scare Will. Marty tries to scare Will but gets his foot stuck in the rocks and Will has to help him out. Marty is also scared because they see the haunted, glowing rock where Captain Crow will return. They make it home just in time.

Nine year old Will is looking forward to attending a summer dance with the older children, but his older brother Marty has other plans in store for him. Marty lays the stage for fright by telling Will the story of infamous pirate Captain Crow, who spent his life searching for the nine year old cabin boy who bested him in a fight. Legend says even after his death, Crow's ghost continues to search for the cabin boy along the coast of Duncade, Ireland, and any nine year old boys in his path will be kidnapped to his ship. Luckily for Will, his parents insist that he and Marty take a route to the dance that does not travel along the rocks known as Captain Crow's Teeth. But events take a turn for the worse when Will wins a contest at the dance and gets named "Captain Crow's Official Cabin Boy". When the dance ends, Marty suddenly has an excuse not to take Will home on his bike, forcing Will to traverse alone at night the dangerous rocks haunted by Captain Crow in order to get home by curfew. When the rocks begin to glow, Will wonders if it is phosphorescence or really the evil Captain Crow. But when Will gets “haunted” by Crow’s ghost, it turns out to be Marty attempting to frighten him. Ironically, Marty is the one who ends up learning a lesson in fear and humility, when he finds himself trapped in the rocks and believes himself to be in danger from the legendary ghost. Will winds up saving the day for both of them and finding unexpected courage.