Parents' Guide to Treasure Hunters

Treasure hunting makes for a fun premise, of course, and the Kidd's constant run-ins with scuba ninjas, a Pirate King, and other crazy characters keeps TREASURE HUNTERS sailing along. Plus, most tween readers will enjoy getting to know the resourceful and loyal Kidd siblings: Handsome flirt Tommy is great at sailing the boat, overweight Storm is great with the computers and has a photographic memory, Bick, the older of a pair of strong-willed (and often arguing) twins is writing the story, and his twin Beck is the artist who illustrates his perspective -- offering her own take, as well. There's a lot of of gunplay throughout the the story, but the Kidds also use their other skills to get out of jams (Storm uses her knowledge of maritime law to outwit a police officer, for example). Some readers might be surprised at how quickly the Kidd kids move on after their father's sudden disappearance, but all in all, this first installment offers a smart setup for an adventurous, multi-volumed middle-grade series. Don't look for anything super deep in this first book, but it's certainly entertaining enough, and even educational at times as the Kidds look for (and sometimes find) historical artifacts. The big font and cartoon-like black-and-white illustrations that permeate the book and break up the text -- along with plenty of swashbuckling adventure on the high seas -- make this a good choice for reluctant readers.