Peter Duck: A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees (Swallows and Amazons Series)

We attribute their success to two facts: first, Ransome is a great storyteller, and second, he clearly writes from first-hand experience. Independence and initiative are qualities any child can understand and every volume in this collection celebrates these virtues.

The third book in Arthur Ransome's wonderful series for children, Peter Duck takes intrepid explorers John, Susan, Titty, and Roger Walker, and fearsome Amazon pirates Nancy and Peggy Blackett, onto the high seas. Under the command of the infamous Captain Flint (Nancy and Peggy's Uncle Jim), the children brave a real-life pirate and his cutthroat crew, fog, sharks, and the ravenous crabs of Crab Island in the search for buried treasure.

All 12 novels in the Swallows and Amazons series have been brought to life in the US in print by David R. Godine, Publisher.