Title: The Treasure of Amelia Island
First published: February 28, 2008
Description: In 1813 the children of Ana Jai Kingsley run from the Patriots straight into even more danger

Eleven-year-old Mary Kingsley recounts the tumultuous events of December 1813. Her family lived in La Florida, a Spanish territory under siege by Patriots from the United States of America. Patriots wanted to force Spain out of the land it had ruled for nearly three hundred years.

Mary is the youngest child of a former slave, Ana Jai Kingsley. Her father freed Mary and the rest of the family, but the Patriots don’t care. They see no place for freed people of color in a new Florida. They want to make Mary and her family slaves again.

Against these mighty events, Mary decides to search for a legendary pirate treasure with her brother George and her half-brother Diego. This treasure hunt, filled with danger and recklessness, is compelling and unforgettable and it changes Mary Kingsley forever.

The Kingsley family actually existed in this era. Zephaniah Kingsley married the African slave Ana Jai. He freed her and their three children and they lived at a plantation that you can visit today in northeast Florida.

Ages 8–12
Subjects: Fiction, History, Freedmen, Buried treasure, Racially mixed people, Juvenile fiction, Family life, Slavery, Children's fiction, Family life, fiction, Slavery, fiction, Racially mixed people, fiction, Buried treasure, fiction, Florida, fiction
Places: Florida, Amelia Island (Fla.)
People: Anna Kingsley (1793-1870)
Time periods: Spanish colony, 1784-1821, 19th century
LC classification: PZ7.F49845 Tre 2008