Ghost Ship (Paula Wiseman Books)

World-renowned master storyteller and New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark's first picture book is a ghost story set on the Cape Cod coastline and the high seas, and a story of friendship between two boys.Thomas loved his summer visits to his grandmother's on Cape Cod. He spent hours wondering about the sailing ships of the past and imagining their stories. He dreamed of being on a sailing ship himself. One afternoon after a night of terrible thunderstorms, Thomas finds, deep in the sand, a weathered, old-fashioned belt buckle. When he picks it up, a boy his own age, Silas Rich, who was a cabin boy on a ship called the Monomoy that sailed almost 250 years ago, appears. Suddenly the world of sailing ships is very near as Silas tells his tale. Beloved and bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark tells a story of mystery and adventure that will transport readers to a time and place beyond their imaginings in her first book for children. Wendell Minor's inspired paintings make a time long ago very real.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1–3—While at his grandmother's Cape Cod home, Thomas finds an old belt buckle on the beach. He is then visited by a vision of a child named Silas, who once served as cabin boy to the very sea captain who owned the house. Silas tells Thomas how he and the other local boys once saved the captain's ship from mooncussers—villains who trick sailors by putting lanterns out on the beach to lead ships into shallow water and then steal their cargo. Silas and his friends set fire to the long stairs to the captain's house, so that he saw the house's outline and realized that he had been misled by the lanterns. Though the plot elements would seem thrilling enough-villainy, adventure, heroism—the telling of the story is wordy and meandering. Minor's paintings are atmospheric and fetching, but overall this book will appeal more to adults than to kids.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In her first children's book, a popular writer of adult thrillers and a familiar illustrator pair up to create a picture book that blends past and present. While visiting his grandmother in a 300-year-old house built by Andrew Hallett, a great sea captain, nine-year-old Thomas loves hearing the exciting stories of sailing ships that were sometimes wrecked on the rocks. One day after a heavy storm he finds an old belt buckle on the beach, and the ghost of Silas, the boy who owned the buckle in 1690, appears. Silas, who was Hallett's cabin boy, explains how he used a raging fire to save the captain's ship from the local mooncussers (thieves). The scenarios with the boys and Grandma are too idyllic, and kids may wonder how the fire was put out. The time-travel scenario is intriguing, however, as are the heroics, and children will like Minor's sturdy, richly colored artwork, which depicts raging fires, ghosts, and sun-dappled beaches with equal facility. Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark wrote over forty suspense novels, four collections of short stories, a his­torical novel, a memoir, and two children’s books. With bestselling author Alafair Burke she wrote the Under Suspicion series including The Cinderella Murder, All Dressed in White, The Sleeping Beauty Killer, Every Breath You Take, You Don’t Own Me, and Piece of My Heart. With her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, she coauthored five suspense novels. More than one hundred million copies of her books are in print in the United States alone. Her books are international bestsellers.Wendell Minor has illustrated dozens of picture books, and his work has won countless awards and is in permanent collections of such institutions as the Museum of American Illustration and the Library of Congress. His cover illustrations have graced some of the most significant novels of our time by authors such as Toni Morrison, David McCullough, and James Michener. He lives in Washington, Connecticut. Visit him online at MinorArt.com.

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