Treasure Island - John Lawrence

John Lawrence illustrates this volume of the Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, Treasure Island. This version of the pirate book is oversize, 12" by 81/2" by 11/2". The book is for all ages. Little kids love listening to the action and adventure story. Older children can read about Jim Hawkins’ sea adventure independently. Adults will enjoy the story and the engravings.

John Lawrence is an engraver. It is why the volume is oversized, to allow the reader to view the detail the artist renders the scenes and characters. The book is like a coffee table book complete with Robert Louis Stevenson’s wonderful text. Look at the artist’s engraving of Long John Silver on the book cover.

Candlewick Press publishes the book with the original text. It reads as Stevenson wrote it. Therefore, the novel contains archaic terms and practices. The modern child has no knowledge of blood letting to cure a patient. It was standard practice and considered state-of-art at the time. Today’s child may consider the doctor as torturing, not helping the poor souls.

For readers, not familiar with Treasure Island this is a synopsis. The book chronicles the sea adventures of young Jim Hawkins. It tells what precipitates the adventures, the voyage itself and the return. Young Jim, Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney have in their possession a treasure map and the hearty fellows sail to the Carribean to seek it. However, life is not so simple or unexciting. Little things like fierce sea storms, dirty double-crossing pirates, sword fights and captivity give life and the pirates’ story it’s adventure. Stevenson’s story is the best!



This is a 64-page mini-version of Treasure Island for younger readers. Happy Treasure Hunting!


"A home without books is a body without soul."---Marcus Tullius Cicero

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Note: Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island illustrated by John Lawrence was received from Candlewick Press a Random House imprint.