To have a good story one needs to build a good plot line for a reader to follow. But to turn a good story into a great story a writer should add facts to the narrative which a reader learns something new through the narrative. William Gilkerson has done that with his book Pirate’s Passage. And that is what makes not only the book a great read but the animated film worthy to watch as well.

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Pirate's Passage was a book I really enjoyed, but I suspect this is not a book for everyone. Directed at children ages 10 and up, I would question whether there would be many ten year olds who would enjoy this book.One would need a keen interest in pirates and sailing to fully appreciate what this book has to offer.

While the novel is set in the 1950s, it covers a great deal of the history of piracy. Some of the facts, however, may be questionable so it may not be useful as a tool for historical accuracy. The book could appeal to any age, but the reading level is more for high school. This would appeal to students interested in pirates, and could have particular appeal to boys. It won the Governor General's Literary Award 2006 and the New York Library Association "Book of the Season" Award.

I was quite disappointed with this book. It started off well, with the action moving along nicely and the mystery of the captain setting a great atmosphere. However, the story soon gets bogged down with too many details of the history of piracy, too much of Jim's angst over the dog that is trying to catch him & the forces trying to get the inn away from his family and not enough action to keep the story moving forward. In the end, not much happened in this book, certainly not enough to justify it's 350+ pages.

Over all, I think that a young person would get bogged down when the action slows to a crawl and give up, I know I almost did a few times, and I ended up skipping the last chapters just to get to the end. ( )

Young Jim’s life is about to change by the abrupt arrival of an old sea dog named Captain Charles Johnson. And a good thing to, as the family inn, the centuries old Admiral Anson, has hit rough times. The pressure to sell to the wealthy cummunity bullies, the Moehners (pronounced meaners) has become almost unbearable and everyday after school Jim must evade the Moehner dog, Grendel, who he strongly suspects to have been trained to attack him. Not only is the good captain skilled at subtly disarming the Moehners, he has hired Jim to be his errand boy for an extraodinary one dollar a day. On top of everything, he has promised to help Jim with his pirate essay. Thus begins an unusal friendship, interspersed by unusually riveting history lessons and adventures the likes of which will keep you at the edge of your seat.

William Gilkerson counterpoints a coming of age story with fascinating, historical tales of real pirates. Starting with Drake and wending his way through the centuries until he arrives in the nineteenth century with the demise of Blackbeard, Gilkerson posits the theory that there has hardly been any difference between governments and the brotherhood of pirates, a thesis that is not very popular with Jim’s teacher. Although there are moments of action and mystery (the Captain is a mysterious character who never divulges much of himself) I would not recommend this book to reluctant readers. But to avid boy or girl readers between the ages of 10-12 who love pirates, I would not hesitate. ( )