Knowing that I was in for a struggle trying to keep my five-year-old, Buster, interested in being read to for 20 minutes a day this summer, we headed off to get him a few books that might hold his attention. I was pleased to see that a newish line of books about a teenage Jack Sparrow were available, so I got him the first in the series: Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm by Rob Kidd.

::: Becoming a Captain :::

Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm introduces us to Jack before he's the drunk pirate we know from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, when he is a 15-year-old boy. Caught stealing a bag in a pub one night, he meets the pub owner's daughter Arabella, and soon enlists her help as well as a few others they meet along the way. Jack, you see, is looking for the Sword of Cortes, a mythical sword that, when reunited with its scabbard, gives its holder untold power.

::: No, He Isn't Drunk :::

I'll admit I was a bit dubious at the thought of Jack Sparrow as the hero in a children's book. Even in this book's recommended age bracket of the middle-school set, I'd be wary of a drunken, carousing pirate being someone I'd encourage kids to read about in a series.

I was pleasantly surprised, however. While the Jack Sparrow character in Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm (and I'm assuming the rest of the series) isn't exactly angelic, he displays all of the good heart that the movie Jack does with none of the more adult characteristics.

The book is interspersed with illustrations credited only to "Disney" and they came just often enough to keep Buster motivated. All are done in pen and ink and add a visual assist to some of the more complicated plot points. It's definitely not geared toward younger readers, but as a read-aloud chapter books we read over the course of several nights, it was a hit, and my seven-year-old grabbed it and read it as well.

Overall, Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm is a great start to what promises to be just the series the children's genre has been missing, appealing to boys and girls alike who are looking for more daring adventures that don't involve wizards.

This review previously published on Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_T...

Jack was surrounded by the fight on all sides. Arabella the barmaid helped him with his sack and staggered out the back door of the bar and into stormy tropical night. After that, jack noticed that the thing in the sack were all gone and the sword of Cortés was gone. The sword of Cortés, they had interested in this.

I like this scene because this scene was the start of the adventure of Jack and Arabella. I also like the conversation between Jack and Arabella.

Ja leute ich hab gerade kindedhörspiel gehört weil was soll ich sagen bin desperate auf puraten und das war tatsächlich interessant halt für kinder aber yolo war gut

My second favorite book series next to Lord of the Rings! Very funny! Good for all ages.

This book was ASOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jack Sparrow is my Idle.

I'm definitely not the age range this books was going for, but I still enjoyed it.
It was a fun and light hearted read that didn't leave any lingering negative emotions.

I am SO MAD that I was too old to enjoy this book when I read it. Or maybe I wouldn't have liked the female protagonist anyway. Who knows. I know adults who enjoyed these though. I'll probably end up reading this again later when I'm feeling nostalgic.

I'm reading the series to my sons (10 & 5) who love pirates and love Cap'n Jack.

This book was bland in its writing and the plot was very linear. Besides a few "savvy?" and "mate" additions, the teen Jack Sparrow in this book was so devoid of depth. All of the characters had a clear objective for themselves, but no real personalities. Every scene was the same -- a description of the setting and the weather, then a wall of dialogue, then the characters would do some stuff and just slog through the plot points.

Even for my sons, the plot had them giving me mean side eye and my 5-year-old kept saying "Are you sure that's Jack, because that's not what Jack would do." The fight scenes were also pretty bad and a bit nonsensical.

You don't *feel* the story and it's just overall choppy and a bit disappointing. I wish Disney/the author would have spent more time in these books making them really deliver. Sadly, for us, they are missing the mark.

That was a short and enjoyable read.

The story itself isn't anything to write home about, it's mostly used as an introduction to the characters we'll be following this series and the relationships they have with each other. The plot was simple, the bulk of the story being focused on traveling while the ending felt a bit rushed, as if the author was running out of pages.

Overall it was a fun enough way to spend some time.

No ha estado mal, pero la verdad es que me esperaba otra cosa...
Aunque sea un libro infantil, si me gusta la trama, le doy una valoración tan válida como con cualquier otro libro, por lo que mis 2'5 estrellas NO vienen por ser un libro infantil, sino que:

Por lo que cuenta la sinopsis (y las primeras páginas del libro), pensaba que al finalizarlo entendería de dónde viene Jack, su historia, lo que ocurre antes de que empiece la primera peli de la saga, o que se hagan guiños y referencias a personajes y hechos de las pelis. Pero no, en realidad aquí tenemos un cuento sobre una de las primeras etapas de Jack al mando de un barco y cómo un grupo de amigos va en busca de una leyenda pirata.
De hecho, hay aspectos que se cierran con este tomo, pero si quieres conocer cómo acaba el misterio principal, debes seguir leyendo la colección.

El libro está bien para todo aquel al que le guste Piratas del Caribe (de hecho, a mí me ha gustado para pasar una tarde entretenida con mi género favorito: aventura), pero eso sí, que no piense que va a encontrar la precuela de la primera peli en este único tomo.

Pd: opino que deberían hacerse más libros de aventuras, tanto en juvenil como adulto.

Loved reading this with my little one! Very fun and humorous read. Love the little here and there homages to the movies.