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Choose Your Own Adventure: Young Readers #3
Sunken Treasure
The reader is asked to make choices which will determine the outcome of a search for sunken treasure.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
84 people want to read
About the author
Edward Packard
169 books125 followersEdward Packard attended and graduated from both Princeton University and Columbia Law School. He was one of the first authors to explore the idea of gamebooks, in which the reader is inserted as the main character and makes choices about the direction the story will go at designated places in the text.
The first such book that Edward Packard wrote in the Choose Your Own Adventure series was titled "Sugarcane Island", but it was not actually published as the first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. In 1979, the first book to be released in the series was "The Cave of Time", a fantasy time-travel story that remained in print for many years. Eventually, one hundred eighty-four Choose Your Own Adventure books would be published before production on new entries to the series ceased in 1998. Edward Packard was the author of many of these books, though a substantial number of other authors were included as well.
In 2005, Choose Your Own Adventure books once again began to be published, but none of Edward Packard's titles have yet been included among the newly-released books.
The first such book that Edward Packard wrote in the Choose Your Own Adventure series was titled "Sugarcane Island", but it was not actually published as the first entry in the Choose Your Own Adventure Series. In 1979, the first book to be released in the series was "The Cave of Time", a fantasy time-travel story that remained in print for many years. Eventually, one hundred eighty-four Choose Your Own Adventure books would be published before production on new entries to the series ceased in 1998. Edward Packard was the author of many of these books, though a substantial number of other authors were included as well.
In 2005, Choose Your Own Adventure books once again began to be published, but none of Edward Packard's titles have yet been included among the newly-released books.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 5, 2025
Pirate lore has been a cornerstone of kid lit for centuries, and Edward Packard brings it to the Bantam Skylark Choose Your Own Adventure series with Sunken Treasure. Living in 1793 Boston, you are captivated by the everyday sight of tall ships moving in and out of harbor. Your friend Nick's father is Captain Frye of the Eagle schooner, and you love his dramatic tales of the high seas. You are pulled into a sea yarn of your own when you discover a treasure map in your parents' attic. Captain Frye is currently away on the Eagle; should you wait for his return to ask about the map, or go to harbor and inquire of another sailor?
The man you ask invites you aboard the Caliban to show his captain the map. Too bad the captain is Red Eye the pirate, who abducts you to help search for the treasure. Red Eye has coveted Blue Beard's famous lost hoard a long while, and this map indicates its location. Forced to serve as lookout in the crow's-nest of the Caliban, after weeks of sailing you spot a distant pair of American Navy schooners. You could warn Red Eye, but that would indicate you truly are loyal to the pirates...which might be your undoing. If you give no warning, the Navy men pass without incident, but you spot Captain Frye's ship headed your way. You could try grabbing the wheel of the Caliban and running it aground on a reef, sinking the pirates and earning yourself rescue. If you aren't that bold, the pirates might get the jump on Captain Frye, but will Red Eye's treachery be his own demise?
Waiting for Captain Frye at the start leads to quick confirmation that the map points to the treasure lost when Blue Beard's ship, the Hecate, sank half a century ago off the coast of Tama Island. You, your friend Nick, Captain Frye, and first mate Mr. Pym set sail on the Eagle, following the map. The treasure could be underwater or on the island; do you wish to explore the reef or on land? While investigating the reef with Mr. Pym, you are sobered by the approach of the Caliban pirate ship. Trying to escape in the skiff while Mr. Pym defends the Eagle could take you far from the action, but a boat with enough firepower to end Red Eye's threat may rescue you. Instead you could hide aboard the Eagle and hope Mr. Pym wards off the pirates, but that may lead to captivity.
Going ashore with Nick to look for the treasure offers plenty of area to search, but the sight of the Caliban gliding toward you is a bad omen. You could run to alert Nick, but you'll tumble into a deep pit with alligators. One wrong step will make you a meal, but a clever trick gets you out in time to see Nick and his father...with the treasure. Rather than run off to warn Nick about the pirate ship, you can venture into the tunnel you found, which contains a chest engraved with a warning: whoever steals Blue Beard's treasure will be cursed to die young. After getting Nick's attention, you find the chest is brimming with gold and silver, but the Caliban has arrived. You might be able to shelter in the cave long enough for a more formidable foe to eliminate Red Eye, but even if the pirates make landfall, he may be stopped from taking the treasure. Do you believe in Blue Beard's curse? The pirates do. Is that enough for you to forsake riches beyond your wildest dreams?
There are one or two premature, unsatisfying endings, but Sunken Treasure is a good pirate story for how short it is, and Edward Packard works in a few thought nuggets that help it stand taller. The book's scope doesn't allow comparison with classic pirate works by Robert Louis Stevenson, Richard Hughes, or Charles Boardman Hawes, but if you want action and intrigue on the sea, you're in the right place. Sunken Treasure isn't as good as Edward Packard's prior Bantam Skylark entry, The Circus, but it should hold one's attention irrespective of age.
The man you ask invites you aboard the Caliban to show his captain the map. Too bad the captain is Red Eye the pirate, who abducts you to help search for the treasure. Red Eye has coveted Blue Beard's famous lost hoard a long while, and this map indicates its location. Forced to serve as lookout in the crow's-nest of the Caliban, after weeks of sailing you spot a distant pair of American Navy schooners. You could warn Red Eye, but that would indicate you truly are loyal to the pirates...which might be your undoing. If you give no warning, the Navy men pass without incident, but you spot Captain Frye's ship headed your way. You could try grabbing the wheel of the Caliban and running it aground on a reef, sinking the pirates and earning yourself rescue. If you aren't that bold, the pirates might get the jump on Captain Frye, but will Red Eye's treachery be his own demise?
Waiting for Captain Frye at the start leads to quick confirmation that the map points to the treasure lost when Blue Beard's ship, the Hecate, sank half a century ago off the coast of Tama Island. You, your friend Nick, Captain Frye, and first mate Mr. Pym set sail on the Eagle, following the map. The treasure could be underwater or on the island; do you wish to explore the reef or on land? While investigating the reef with Mr. Pym, you are sobered by the approach of the Caliban pirate ship. Trying to escape in the skiff while Mr. Pym defends the Eagle could take you far from the action, but a boat with enough firepower to end Red Eye's threat may rescue you. Instead you could hide aboard the Eagle and hope Mr. Pym wards off the pirates, but that may lead to captivity.
Going ashore with Nick to look for the treasure offers plenty of area to search, but the sight of the Caliban gliding toward you is a bad omen. You could run to alert Nick, but you'll tumble into a deep pit with alligators. One wrong step will make you a meal, but a clever trick gets you out in time to see Nick and his father...with the treasure. Rather than run off to warn Nick about the pirate ship, you can venture into the tunnel you found, which contains a chest engraved with a warning: whoever steals Blue Beard's treasure will be cursed to die young. After getting Nick's attention, you find the chest is brimming with gold and silver, but the Caliban has arrived. You might be able to shelter in the cave long enough for a more formidable foe to eliminate Red Eye, but even if the pirates make landfall, he may be stopped from taking the treasure. Do you believe in Blue Beard's curse? The pirates do. Is that enough for you to forsake riches beyond your wildest dreams?
There are one or two premature, unsatisfying endings, but Sunken Treasure is a good pirate story for how short it is, and Edward Packard works in a few thought nuggets that help it stand taller. The book's scope doesn't allow comparison with classic pirate works by Robert Louis Stevenson, Richard Hughes, or Charles Boardman Hawes, but if you want action and intrigue on the sea, you're in the right place. Sunken Treasure isn't as good as Edward Packard's prior Bantam Skylark entry, The Circus, but it should hold one's attention irrespective of age.
September 1, 2018
3 stars!
A very adventurous story, where the young reader can decide where the story is heading to. It is an lovely idea to have more than one story in a book and to be the main character taking the important decisions.
A very adventurous story, where the young reader can decide where the story is heading to. It is an lovely idea to have more than one story in a book and to be the main character taking the important decisions.
December 29, 2018
Interativo, com trama simples, coerente e escolhas que levam a algum lugar de sentido. Apesar de infantil, tem finais trágicos.
January 22, 2019
fine story lines but they are all over so fast
( I think of this kind of book as "finished" enough for me to put here once i have come to 5 ends)
( I think of this kind of book as "finished" enough for me to put here once i have come to 5 ends)
August 6, 2018
İlk kitaplarımızdandı. Resimleri güzeldir. Hikayemizi kendimiz seçmemiz güzeldi. Genel olarak ölüyordum ama olsun fdsgd. Çocuklar için çok uygun olmayan korkutucu olabilecek bir hikaye. Sevdiğim güzel bir kitap.
November 30, 2012
I've always loved Choose Your Own Adventure books!!
July 9, 2013
the adventures that I went through when I was bored I just read these books over and over again you would never get to the end of the story.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews