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Summary
Summary
Set sail to the heart of adventure with cabin boy, Jim Hawkins, aboard the legendary scoundrel, Captain Long John Silver. A secret treasure map becomes the key to heart-pounding thrills, danger and swashbuckling action as a boy faces the high seas and the grandest pirate of all in the adventure of a life time.
Author Notes
Novelist, poet, and essayist Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. A sickly child, Stevenson was an invalid for part of his childhood and remained in ill health throughout his life. He began studying engineering at Edinburgh University but soon switched to law. His true inclination, however, was for writing. For several years after completing his studies, Stevenson traveled on the Continent, gathering ideas for his writing. His Inland Voyage (1878) and Travels with a Donkey (1878) describe some of his experiences there. A variety of essays and short stories followed, most of which were published in magazines. It was with the publication of Treasure Island in 1883, however, that Stevenson achieved wide recognition and fame. This was followed by his most successful adventure story, Kidnapped, which appeared in 1886.
With stories such as Treasure Island and Kidnapped, Stevenson revived Daniel Defoe's novel of romantic adventure, adding to it psychological analysis. While these stories and others, such as David Balfour and The Master of Ballantrae (1889), are stories of adventure, they are at the same time fine studies of character. The Master of Ballantrae, in particular, is a study of evil character, and this study is taken even further in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
In 1887 Stevenson and his wife, Fanny, went to the United States, first to the health spas of Saranac Lake, New York, and then on to the West Coast. From there they set out for the South Seas in 1889. Except for one trip to Sidney, Australia, Stevenson spent the remainder of his life on the island of Samoa with his devoted wife and stepson. While there he wrote The Wrecker (1892), Island Nights Entertainments (1893), and Catriona (1893), a sequel to Kidnapped. He also worked on St. Ives and The Weir of Hermiston, which many consider to be his masterpiece. He died suddenly of apoplexy, leaving both of these works unfinished. Both were published posthumously; St. Ives was completed by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, and The Weir of Hermiston was published unfinished. Stevenson was buried on Samoa, an island he had come to love very much.
Although Stevenson's novels are perhaps more accomplished, his short stories are also vivid and memorable. All show his power of invention, his command of the macabre and the eerie, and the psychological depth of his characterization.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-This fast-paced, pared down "storyteller's version" of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic will captivate listeners thanks to Jim Weiss's ability to bring a story to life. Weiss begins by briefly discussing Stevenson's life and explaining how the celebrated author came to create the novel. After this fine introduction, he treats listeners to an entertaining adaptation of the adventure that is easy to follow. Young Jim Hawkins discovers a treasure map and takes to the high seas to claim the treasure. Battling Hawkins is a vindictive group of pirates led by the duplicitous peg-legged Long John Silver. Weiss has fun with the characters, especially the boisterous Silver, the shrill Ben Gunn, and a parrot that loves squawking "Pieces of Eight! Pieces of Eight!" He uses his voice effectively when describing both the terror Hawkins feels hiding from bad guys and the sudden noise of a gun battle. Jim Weiss ends by telling kids to find the book at their local library. An hour long program cannot do complete justice to Stevenson's classic, but this skillful presentation will encourage young listeners to read Treasure Island.-Brian E. Wilson, Evanston Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Sure, this summer's flick Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End may have visual splash, but a new recording of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, read by Alfred Molina, serves up a swashbuckling listening experience for the whole family. Molina's British accent, smooth delivery and inviting tone of wide-eyed adventure whisk readers on deck with teenage narrator/protagonist Jim Hawkins. His depictions of gruff seamen and the program's occasional snippets of sea chantey music further color the proceedings. A bonus essay by maritime scholar David Cordingly is included. (Listening Library, unabridged, six CDs, seven hours $29.95 ISBN 9780-7393-5046-1 ages 9-up; July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
These adaptations are so poor that it is a disgrace for the original author's name to appear on the book; the old classic comic-book renditions had more integrity. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-9. This is one of the best in the picture-book-size Scribner Storybook Classic series. True to the spirit of Stevenson's timeless novel, Timothy Meis' abridged retelling captures the bloody action of mutiny on the high seas and the cutthroat quest for hidden treasure. The story is told through the eyes of brave cabin boy Jim, who fights off the murderous pirates and bonds with their one-legged leader, Long John Silver. Wyeth's thrilling, handsomely reproduced paintings, originally done in 1911, will attract a variety of readers, including some older high-schoolers. In dark shades of brown and red, the pictures focus on the grim, exciting struggle on board the ship and on the island. At the same time, there's a burning golden glow in the background of almost every scene, keeping readers in mind of the treasure that drives the wild action. The most unforgettable painting--and one of Wyeth's most famous--is the melancholy scene of Jim leaving home as his mother weeps in the background. It's the elemental adventure. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2003 Booklist