Rating: Needs Parent Supervision

Reading Level: Middle School, but content might be better for High School

A classic tale in which stereotypical pirates take over a ship in search of treasure with plans to kill the captain and patrons. A young boy named Jim outsmarts the pirates and credits luck to his many narrow escapes.

Possible Concerns:

  • Pirate speak. It is very difficult, at times, to understand what they are saying.
  • Violence. Guns, swords, knives, deaths and injuries.
  • Alcohol. Drunkenness plays a huge role. You’ll see wine, rum, and a whole lot of it!
  • Ghosts. The pirates are superstitious.
  • Mutiny. A sailor plots to be ske over the ship and the treasure.
  • Dad dies. The ailing father passed on early in the story.
  • Difficult speech/classic literature. Even though I read the update language version, it was still unabridged and pretty tough to understand at times. The pirates speech was especially difficult to discern.
  • Christianity without relationship. Christianity is associated with moral uprightness and very little with a relationship with God.
  • Racism. “Negress,” “negro wife,” “Mexican Indian”