Magical Map #1: Pirates of the Caribbean

by Ridley Pearson

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens

125 pages, Paperback

Published August 5, 2025

About the author

Ridley Pearson is the author of more than fifty novels, including the New York Times bestseller Killer Weekend; the Lou Boldt crime series; and many books for young readers, including the award-winning children's novels Peter and the Starcatchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, which he cowrote with Dave Barry. Pearson lives with his wife and two daughters, dividing their time between Missouri and Idaho.

Also writes Chris Klick mysteries as Wendell McCall.

Reviews

[Howard Iske · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a such a fun book, even though I think I maybe appreciated and enjoyed it more as a former Orlando native and Walt Disney World castmember.

The main characters were likable and easy to root for. The premise was clever, and it took the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and flipped it into something new, but still familiar.

Is this the best book I’ve ever read? No, but it makes for a quick, little break that I appreciated. I also like how it set up the next book in the series, which I currently own and will be reading soon.

[Jaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a 2.5. I appreciate the love for the theme park. But my knowledge from working on this ride made me be like you can't get in these scenes from here because xyz. Not trying to do a lot

[Amanda Rau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book I read with my 7 year old. Being somewhat new to chapter books, he read it easily. It was fun to read about the ride and since we go to Disneyland, my son knew exactly what the book was describing. I will say as an adult, some of the action scenes got a little wordy and long and could have been condensed but instead made it a little confusing. But overall it was a fun read

[Rhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful! Action packed. This is what I wanted the Kingdom Keepers series to be. 3.5/5 rounded up.

[JLDS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and fun “Mommy & me” read! My daughter was so excited to go on this magical adventure! We can’t wait to find out what Gemma & Torrin get into next!

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Very excited to read book 2!

[Samantha Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very excited by the premise of this book. As a fan of Kingdom Keepers, it seemed like a great follow-up for 3-5 grade readers. Overall the story was good, but there were a few significant jumps in the story that I thought hindered the character development, especially when talking about the notes Gemma was taking in the notebook. The scenes related to the ride also seemed TOO detailed in contrast to the other portions of the book, so much so that the action was hard to follow.

The illustrations were great in the ARC, but I hope they do a better job with the true lettering on the spine in the final copy. In the ARC, there’s no way that the mirror image shown at the end is readable IRL. The orientation of the letters is also different in Chapter 4 than on the last page.

If there’s still time for editing, I’d also recommend changing the reference to Tortuga Tavern since that space is being repurposed in 2025. Parents may remember the old name, but kids may be confused.

Looking forward to reading Jungle Cruise— hopefully some of the pacing changes to make it a more consistent story, both inside and outside of the park scenes.

Thanks to the Disney Publishing/Hyperion for providing an ARC via Edelweiss.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: Down an alley that was easily missed, there hung a wooden sign.

Premise/plot: Ridley Pearson's newest series is for young readers; it's an early chapter book. Gemma and Torin are brother and sister. Gemma discovers a mysterious, supernatural journal that is tied to...the Magic Kingdom. It has notes, drawings, maps, etc., for many of the rides and attractions. She doesn't know it when she starts reading it and making her own notes, however, so she is unaware of how her notes are effecting the attractions. In this first one, Gemma and Torin must 'save' their mom's job by fixing the Pirates of the Caribbean. The story has been changed!

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. Could a different story had been told if it was for older readers? Yes. Is this story good for younger readers? Yes. Gemma and Torin work together to brainstorm solutions for fixing the magic that has gone wrong. I liked this one well enough. I did.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun early chapter book about the Pirates of the Caribbean ride when everything goes wrong- as if by magic! The story was engaging and kept moving well. The illustrations were fun. My biggest complaint is that sometimes the story jumped in ways that required me to go back and make sure I didn't miss a sentence or something that would explain the jump. It was clearly done to help keep the story moving quickly, but definitely could have been done in a smoother way that didn't leave the reader wondering why the sudden shift.

[Lori Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great first book in this magical series. The setting is WDW Magic Kingdom and something has gone wrong with the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Gemma and Torin’s mom works for Disney and it is her job to fix it! Through magic and adventure, Gemma and Torin figure out why things keep going wrong with the ride and are able to save the day! This book is a quick read and is perfect for that student who has just caught the reading bug and loves Disney! It is best to read this book in the series first so you know how the series began.

[Leanora · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book! Admittedly I’m a dis-nerd, but how enjoyable and a little break from reality. Definitely recommend to read with your middle grade kids, or even if you need a dose of Disney magic! Perfect escape.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but felt it could have been fleshed out a bit more.

[Amber Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. I read with my 9 year old to get him to move to chapter books more. We enjoyed it.

[CassandraJean Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5