The Mystery of the Pirate Ghost (Step-Into-Reading, Step 4)

I loved this book as a kid. I'm 27 today, and I don't smoke. However I do use the word "fool" quite often, so I guess this book damaged me forever. It was written before focus group idiots watered down everything. That was when cartoons were violent and funny. But focus groups saved us from that! Now instead of smoking kids of this new generation just mow each other down with machine guns in schools across the nation. Way to go focus groups!

this book was great. IT's got a good spooky feel to it. It was one of my favs as a kid.

We liked the book, it was entertaining and easy to read, however I agree with another review posted earlier: book mentions cigar, smoking and beer.
I see that as a oportunity to talk with my kids about it.

My 6-year-old enjoyed this book, and overall it's not bad, but I do take exception to a few points:

*One of the protagonists, Uncle Tooth, smokes a pipe. Not only does it show this, the text mentions him puffing on it. Having a tobacco product or a tobacco-related item shown in a positive light in a children's book doesn't seem appropriate to me.

*Another character--a good guy--is mentioned to be smoking a cigar.

*The two main characters enter a pool hall where it is shown and mentioned that some men are drinking beer.

*The bad guy carries a gun, which is shown (but not used).

*The language between some of the main characters is a little harsh. For example, when an older woman thinks she's seen a ghost, her brother, a protagonist, says, "Don't be a fool."

The overall moral message of the story is good, and it's a story kids will enjoy, but if I had known about these other points, I wouldn't have bought this book. It shows a severe lack of judgment both from the author and the publisher.

I've loved this book I've been a little kid, sitting in my bed, dreaming of being a pirate of some form or fashion. This is a children's book meant for a mixed audience. This book packs in an adventure big enough to be enjoyable even for an adult who wouldn't be uncomfortable with such a book in his or her hands. The book maintains a set line of humor throughout so one doesn't have to worry about being too frightened by the "Pirate Ghost". The writing style is interesting enough, and the humorous pictures are very satisfying to look at with this pleasant tale of a pirate mystery.

This book I thought was great. I would recommend this book to any kid that has a good imagination and that wants to know everything. This book would be great for kid imagination and would get it going because the book keeps you going until the end where it finally shows you the culprit. Let me tell you some about the book without ruining it for you. It's about this kid named Otto that has an uncle that has been around a lot and has been on lots of trips and adventures. Now this "ghost" has been on the run after stealing things from Boogle Bay. They had a plan to catch the ghost as they think it is but the play fails. After a bit they end up having another plan using a trumpet that uncle Tooth had given to Otto. To find out what happens next be sure to read this book its great. I thought it had good pictures and well written for kids.