The Terror of the Southland
Written by Caroline Carlson
Illustrated by Dave Phillips
Hilary Westfield is the pirate readers met in the first book, Magic Marks the Spot. It was in that book that she earned the name, Terror of the Southland. In this second book in the series, “The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates,” follows Hilary on another adventure where she goes off to save the Enchantress.
Readers from grades three well beyond grade seven will enjoy this swashbuckling tale of bumbling pirates and magic coins. Among the kidnapping and spying, Hilary shows her strong character of loyalty to friends as well as her fairness in all things. These traits cause a problem between her and the league, as most pirates are neither loyal nor fair. During the entertainment young readers will find themselves thinking about these issues in their own characters.
Exaggeration and sarcasm are two literary elements students will identify and enjoy. Of course, the comic fellow everyone loves is Hilary’s gargoyle. He has a healthy self-esteem and has time in this book to begin dictating his memoirs to Hilary.
The book includes fictional newspaper articles, posters, announcements, invitations and even the kidnappers’ note. It provides students with an opportunity to distinguish between different types of writing and will be a fun way for teachers to illustrate them in literacy classes.
These books will be a tease for reluctant readers and just might draw them in for more than one adventure. Arrrgh!
Title: The Terror of the Southlands- Author: Caroline Carlson
- Illustrator: Dave Phillips
- Publisher: Harper, 2014
- Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
- Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
- ISBN: 978-0-06-219436-7
- Genre: Fiction, humor
- Grade level: 3-7
- Extras: An excerpt of the next book in the series.
