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Reviewed by Jean Hall for Readers' Favorite
Who wouldn't like to go on a treasure hunt? Fifth-grade friends Silky and Sly discover a haunted ghost ship and buried treasure. Dr. Karen Hutchins Pirnot in The Ghost of Gasparilla: A Silky and Sly Adventure makes a children's dream come true.
Silky, a curious but bored little girl, writes a paper about the pirate Gasparilla. She tells the story to Sly, an eager but distracted little boy. The kids spend a summer with Silky's Aunt Maude and Uncle Harry in Port Charlotte, Florida. They snorkel in the reefs, find sand dollars, and encounter colorful characters. As they are snorkeling, they discover a 150-year-old ship called Floridablanca. As the discovery turns to a salvage operation, the ghost of Gasparilla is released and his specter is felt and seen. He has gone down with the treasure-laden ship rather than be captured.
The characters explore their imaginations by studying pirate history and then those ideas and images become part of their actual summer vacation. The frequent dialogue and descriptions make the incredible tale easier to believe. There are occasional pictures of a pirate, a ship, a chest of buried treasure, and a scary image of the sunken ghost. The children learn many things as they go on this exciting adventure.
The Ghost of Gasparilla is geared for a pre-teen audience but adults can enjoy the story too. Dr. Hutchins Pirnot is a retired clinical psychologist and she brings her insight to this somewhat tall tale.