Island of Thieves by Josh Lacey - OPTIONAL

Lacey, Josh.  Island of Thieves, 240 pages.  Houghton Mifflin Books for Young Children, 2012 (first published in Great Britain in 2011 by Andersen Press).  $15.99.  Language: PG (2 mild swears); Sexual Content: G; Violence: PG (some action sequences).  When Tom burns down his his family's shed, his friend's parents don't want to watch him while Tom's parents go to the Bahamas.  So Tom ends up staying with his Uncle Harvey.  Tom talks his uncle into taking him down to Peru with him, and together they hunt for long, lost buried treasure.  But all the while, they must go up against the biggest, baddest, most corrupt criminal in Peru.  It's a fun book, but it took me the first many pages to get over the fact that there is no way Harvey would have taken Tom to Peru with him (his reasoning was because Tom had threatened to call child services if Harvey left him alone in New York like Harvey had planned on doing).  Another issue I had with the book was there were a few times where the phrasing sounded British.  This book was written from Tom's point of view and he is from Connecticut.  But even with those flaws, it was a quick read and enjoyable.  Many boys will like it and won't have the same hang-ups that I did.  Plus, the cover screams, "Come read me, Boy."  I know my six year-old son can't wait to read it.  EL, MS - OPTIONAL.  Brent Smith, Reading Teacher