Holiday Gift Guide 2013: Treasure Hunters by James Patterson

Treasure Hunters

An Illustrated Novel

By James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein with Mark Shulman

Illustrator: Juliana Neufeld

Publisher: Little, Brown And Company

Pub. Date: September 16, 2013

ISBN: 978-0316207560

Pages: 480

Purchase Links:

Book Description from Amazon.com:

The Kidd siblings have grown up diving down to shipwrecks and traveling the world, helping their famous parents recover everything from swords to gold doubloons from the bottom of the ocean. But after their parents disappear n the job, the kids are suddenly thrust into the biggest treasure hunt of their lives. They'll have to work together to defeat dangerous pirates and dodge the hot pursuit of an evil treasure hunting rival, all while following cryptic clues to unravel the mystery of what really happened to their parents--and find out if they're still alive.

Billy's Review:

It seems author James Patterson brings out around a dozen or more novels every year and I have fallen behind on his novels in the last few years. In recent years, James Patterson has expanded his writings for younger readers with the popular Maximum Ride series, The Daniel X novels, Witch & Wizard books and The Middle School series. Now he has started a whole new adventure series with the recent release of Treasure Hunters which he co-authored with Chris Grabenstein and Mark Shulman with illustrations by Julian Neufeld.

Treasure Hunters is told from the point-of-view of twelve-year-old Bick Kidd and is illustrated by his twin sister, Beck, whom are both aboard their father's (Professor Tom Kidd, a famous oceanographer and treasure hunter) sailing ship, The Lost, along with their two older siblings, Tommy and Storm. A sudden storm hits the ship and their father is thrown into the Caribbean Sea. The storm settles down, but there is no sign of their father. Their mother had disappeared three months earlier in Cyprus. It seems the Kidd kids are on their own.

The Lost has a secret room called "The Room," where the parents keep their collection of artifacts. The kids find a "To-Do List" left by their parents in "The Room," featuring locations to possible treasures. The Kidd kids plan on finishing their parent's list, but first they must scuba-dive to the bottom of the ocean to collect their college fund. They Kidd kids battle nasty modern pirates on their quest and must unravel the mystery of what really happened to their parents.

With a blend of National Treasure, Indiana Jones and The Goonies, Treasure Hunters is a fun high-seas adventure that children and adults will enjoy reading over and over again. The Kidd kids feel like actually kids, though they are thrown into outrageous situations that could never happen in reality. The authors did a wonderful job of creating a rich adventure tale with outstanding illustrations. Overall, Treasure Hunters is a fast, exciting read and I highly recommend it to everyone.