Daisy and the Pirates

Eleven-year-old Daisy Tannenbaum must outwit a group of pirates while keeping her family safe in this enjoyable series opener. Daisy is excited to be spending the summer in Thailand with her archeology professor father, who is excavating a Roman ship, even though her annoying older sister, Clymene, is there, too. After Daisy’s mother arrives to pick up the girls, a transportation strike forces the three of them to join her father and grad assistant Helen on a steamer ship transporting the artifact he’s dug up. Then pirates hijack the ship, a storm sinks it, and the Tannenbaums wash ashore on a small island. Daisy is steadfast and intelligent, and her casual first-person narration quickly establishes a rapport with readers. Daisy’s parents get little development as characters, though, and Clymene is portrayed as a typical selfish older sibling, one who can get surprisingly violent. Despite the dangers presented by brushes with pirates and survival in the wild, the story never feels all that tense, but readers should enjoy watching Daisy’s quick thinking in action during her paradise adventure. A sequel, Daisy in Exile, is also available. Ages 8–12. (BookLife)