Ghost Ship (Paula Wiseman Books)
Grade 1–3—While at his grandmother's Cape Cod home, Thomas finds an old belt buckle on the beach. He is then visited by a vision of a child named Silas, who once served as cabin boy to the very sea captain who owned the house. Silas tells Thomas how he and the other local boys once saved the captain's ship from mooncussers—villains who trick sailors by putting lanterns out on the beach to lead ships into shallow water and then steal their cargo. Silas and his friends set fire to the long stairs to the captain's house, so that he saw the house's outline and realized that he had been misled by the lanterns. Though the plot elements would seem thrilling enough-villainy, adventure, heroism—the telling of the story is wordy and meandering. Minor's paintings are atmospheric and fetching, but overall this book will appeal more to adults than to kids.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MDCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.