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Secret Agent Jack Stalwart #2
The Search for the Sunken Treasure: Australia
In one of his most daring exploits, Jack goes down under -- literally -- to investigate the disappearance of a diver off the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Using everything in his backpack arsenal from anti-puke pills to a morphing suit, an egg-shaped submarine to Disappearing Milk, he exposes a deadly nest of pirates raiding a shipwreck site. Jack has to thwart their schemes, evade their attempts on his life, and escape the primordial hunger of three deadly a Komodo dragon, a set of sharks, and the most poisonous predators in the reef, the Irukandji jellyfish. Can he save the treasure and the diver, not to mention himself? Canny and resourceful, Jack will delight readers and impress their parents.
128 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 28, 2019
The Search for Sunken Treasure by Elizabeth Singer Hunter, is a book recommended for children, that is fiction, the main character in this book is Jack the Secret Agent, and he is a fearless bold agent who isn’t afraid to take risks, and will do anything to complete the mission. The book’s setting is based in Australia. An American scuba diver gets into trouble with some pirates, and then gets taken to their ship, and Then Jack has to take matters into his own hands to save him.
I gave this book a three star rating because, I think this book could’ve been longer and also I didn’t like how many pictures there were. But I will say that the book was very interesting, and was really good when Jack had to save the American scuba diver.
I gave this book a three star rating because, I think this book could’ve been longer and also I didn’t like how many pictures there were. But I will say that the book was very interesting, and was really good when Jack had to save the American scuba diver.
December 30, 2018
Inhalt (in meinen Worten):
Der junge Jack muss dieses Mal in den australischen Riffs nach einem vermissten Taucher und einem Schatz suchen und gerät dabei in höchste Lebensgefahr.
Stil:
Auch dieses Buch hab ich wieder mit meinem Sohn zusammen gelesen und muss sagen, es war schon sehr spannend und teilweise etwas 'brutal', da mit einer Harpune auf Jack gefeuert worden ist und auch von 'mord' die Rede war - aber alles noch im Rahmen und nicht so sehr zum fürchten. Wir sind da auch gar nicht so (und mein Sohn kennt auch Zombies), aber erwähnen wollte ich es dennoch.
Dieses Mal aber waren doch ein paar mehr Wörter dabei, die schwierig für Leseanfänger waren und somit hab ich mehr vorgelesen, als mein Sohn selbst.
Fazit:
Man kann dieses Buch getrost alleine für sich stehen lassen, da auch hier wieder alles erklärt wird.
Toll sind all die Infos, die man zusätzlich zur Geschichte erhält und das Ganze noch etwas besser macht. Die Illustrationen sind anschaulich und nicht zu viel, beleben aber alles.
Es ist Detailreich, aber nicht zu ausgeschmückt.
Im Großen und Ganzen kann ich es definitiv empfehlen, aber mit dem Hinweis, dass hier auch ein Hai umher schwimmt und noch etwas anderes, todbringendes auf Jack wartet.
Kinder können viel bei dieser Reihe lernen und ich bin froh, sie entdeckt zu haben. Der dritte (und vorerst letzte) Teil erscheint am 27. August und ich freue mich schon über die Thematik - mein Sohn ist auch schon neugierig.
Allerdings muss ich auch hinzufügen, dass es beim zweiten Teil einige Stellen gegeben hat, die mein Sohn eher langweilig fand und das Interesse etwas abgeklungen hatte.
Der junge Jack muss dieses Mal in den australischen Riffs nach einem vermissten Taucher und einem Schatz suchen und gerät dabei in höchste Lebensgefahr.
Stil:
Auch dieses Buch hab ich wieder mit meinem Sohn zusammen gelesen und muss sagen, es war schon sehr spannend und teilweise etwas 'brutal', da mit einer Harpune auf Jack gefeuert worden ist und auch von 'mord' die Rede war - aber alles noch im Rahmen und nicht so sehr zum fürchten. Wir sind da auch gar nicht so (und mein Sohn kennt auch Zombies), aber erwähnen wollte ich es dennoch.
Dieses Mal aber waren doch ein paar mehr Wörter dabei, die schwierig für Leseanfänger waren und somit hab ich mehr vorgelesen, als mein Sohn selbst.
Fazit:
Man kann dieses Buch getrost alleine für sich stehen lassen, da auch hier wieder alles erklärt wird.
Toll sind all die Infos, die man zusätzlich zur Geschichte erhält und das Ganze noch etwas besser macht. Die Illustrationen sind anschaulich und nicht zu viel, beleben aber alles.
Es ist Detailreich, aber nicht zu ausgeschmückt.
Im Großen und Ganzen kann ich es definitiv empfehlen, aber mit dem Hinweis, dass hier auch ein Hai umher schwimmt und noch etwas anderes, todbringendes auf Jack wartet.
Kinder können viel bei dieser Reihe lernen und ich bin froh, sie entdeckt zu haben. Der dritte (und vorerst letzte) Teil erscheint am 27. August und ich freue mich schon über die Thematik - mein Sohn ist auch schon neugierig.
Allerdings muss ich auch hinzufügen, dass es beim zweiten Teil einige Stellen gegeben hat, die mein Sohn eher langweilig fand und das Interesse etwas abgeklungen hatte.
January 11, 2016
I liked it when Alfie got trapped on the pirate boat.
May 4, 2021
Nine year old secret agent Jack Stalwart is called to action (in Australia) when a diver mysteriously goes missing while working on bringing up historical treasures from an old sunken ship! With the aid of several super cool spy gadgets, his training with the GPF (Global Protection Force), and his own wits and intelligence, Jack must solve the crime before any more artifacts (or divers) go missing!
Full review of the book/series is below, but the TL;DR is this: Great book series for introducing young readers to longer chapter books with engaging characters and action-packed plots. Bonus - good educational value in helping youngsters start to learn about world geography.
CAUTION: From book two on, the books get a bit violent. There is always a villain, and they are often actively trying to kill Jack or someone else. There are guns, knives, and even threat of death by Komodo dragon. One book talks about beheadings (that was a fun conversation I wasn't expecting to have). So just a word of warning to those who may not want their kids exposed to things like that yet.
********
This is the second book in the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series (14 books in all). I originally discovered this series as a way to explore geography with my 6 year old son who loves learning, but not being taught (if that makes sense). He also loves reading, so finding engaging books that also have accurate educational value cleverly mixed in is key in our home. This book series seems to fit the bill nicely.
This was another fun addition to the Jack Stalwart series. My son would undoubtedly give every book is this series an enthusiastic 5 stars, so take that into consideration. As the mom, I gave the first book 4 stars (a pretty solid rating from me), and subsequent books have gotten 3 star ratings (the drop in stars is entirely due to the fact that from book 2 on, there is, in my opinion, too much violence for this age group - guns, knives, assault with a baseball bat, someone always trying to kill Jack (a 9 year old boy!) - it just seems excessive and unnecessarily violent).
Overall, this book series is entertaining and engaging - each book catches my 6 year old son's attention very quickly and holds it. At around 120 pages, it usually takes us 1-2 sittings to finish one of these book (it was difficult getting my son to bed the first night because he wanted just one more chapter..one more page..one more sentence!). I had initially checked out books 1-3 from the library, and we finished them within a week. I immediately logged back onto the library website and requested all of the remaining books.
There are lots of things I'm loving about this book series. As stated, my son loves reading, or more accurately, being read to. He can read at a 2nd grade level currently, but prefers someone else to read to him. This series is helping to change that. When picking what to bring on a car ride, he now chooses whatever Jack Stalwart book we're currently reading. When I have to put his baby sister to bed, he'll sit in his room patiently for quiet reading time and read, what else, Jack Stalwart of course! At this point, he's reading more of the book than I am (so unfortunately I'm missing a lot of the plot and action...haha).
I also really appreciate the geographical focus - each book takes place in a different country. At the beginning of every book, there are a couple of pages devoted to fun facts about whatever country Jack is going to be visiting, along with a map showing where the country is located. Admittedly, my son does groan a bit when I read those pages to him (see above regarding his dislike of being taught), but if I give big reactions ("Oh, wow, I didn't know this!" "This is so cool, listen to this..."), he instantly becomes more interested. Again, the whole reason I even found these books is because I was looking for a way to introduce my son to world geography in a fun and engaging way. Success.
Overall, this book (and series) are a great segue into chapter books for young readers. It does a great job of really fostering a love of reading-for-pleasure by featuring a relatable main character (young boy) doing heroic and adventurous things, being independent, and exhibiting creative problem solving. It's also simple enough that young readers can follow along and start to read them independently. The fact that each book focuses on a different country with lots of great educational tidbits about that country peppered throughout is a huge bonus.
There is an underlying subplot of these books wherein Jack is trying to discover what's happened to his older brother, 11 year old Max. His family has been told that Max (who also works for the GPF) has been accepted to a fancy boarding school in Switzerland but Jack knows it's all a farce. There is always some mention of the mission to find Max, and in I think two of the eight or so books we've read so far there have been clues found, but I would still say you don't necessarily need to read these in chronological order. Though ideally I would prefer to read them that way, we have skipped around a bit based on what the library has had available and it hasn't been a problem. When mentioning a clue found in a previous book, a thorough enough recap is given that you don't feel like you're missing anything.
Full review of the book/series is below, but the TL;DR is this: Great book series for introducing young readers to longer chapter books with engaging characters and action-packed plots. Bonus - good educational value in helping youngsters start to learn about world geography.
CAUTION: From book two on, the books get a bit violent. There is always a villain, and they are often actively trying to kill Jack or someone else. There are guns, knives, and even threat of death by Komodo dragon. One book talks about beheadings (that was a fun conversation I wasn't expecting to have). So just a word of warning to those who may not want their kids exposed to things like that yet.
********
This is the second book in the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series (14 books in all). I originally discovered this series as a way to explore geography with my 6 year old son who loves learning, but not being taught (if that makes sense). He also loves reading, so finding engaging books that also have accurate educational value cleverly mixed in is key in our home. This book series seems to fit the bill nicely.
This was another fun addition to the Jack Stalwart series. My son would undoubtedly give every book is this series an enthusiastic 5 stars, so take that into consideration. As the mom, I gave the first book 4 stars (a pretty solid rating from me), and subsequent books have gotten 3 star ratings (the drop in stars is entirely due to the fact that from book 2 on, there is, in my opinion, too much violence for this age group - guns, knives, assault with a baseball bat, someone always trying to kill Jack (a 9 year old boy!) - it just seems excessive and unnecessarily violent).
Overall, this book series is entertaining and engaging - each book catches my 6 year old son's attention very quickly and holds it. At around 120 pages, it usually takes us 1-2 sittings to finish one of these book (it was difficult getting my son to bed the first night because he wanted just one more chapter..one more page..one more sentence!). I had initially checked out books 1-3 from the library, and we finished them within a week. I immediately logged back onto the library website and requested all of the remaining books.
There are lots of things I'm loving about this book series. As stated, my son loves reading, or more accurately, being read to. He can read at a 2nd grade level currently, but prefers someone else to read to him. This series is helping to change that. When picking what to bring on a car ride, he now chooses whatever Jack Stalwart book we're currently reading. When I have to put his baby sister to bed, he'll sit in his room patiently for quiet reading time and read, what else, Jack Stalwart of course! At this point, he's reading more of the book than I am (so unfortunately I'm missing a lot of the plot and action...haha).
I also really appreciate the geographical focus - each book takes place in a different country. At the beginning of every book, there are a couple of pages devoted to fun facts about whatever country Jack is going to be visiting, along with a map showing where the country is located. Admittedly, my son does groan a bit when I read those pages to him (see above regarding his dislike of being taught), but if I give big reactions ("Oh, wow, I didn't know this!" "This is so cool, listen to this..."), he instantly becomes more interested. Again, the whole reason I even found these books is because I was looking for a way to introduce my son to world geography in a fun and engaging way. Success.
Overall, this book (and series) are a great segue into chapter books for young readers. It does a great job of really fostering a love of reading-for-pleasure by featuring a relatable main character (young boy) doing heroic and adventurous things, being independent, and exhibiting creative problem solving. It's also simple enough that young readers can follow along and start to read them independently. The fact that each book focuses on a different country with lots of great educational tidbits about that country peppered throughout is a huge bonus.
There is an underlying subplot of these books wherein Jack is trying to discover what's happened to his older brother, 11 year old Max. His family has been told that Max (who also works for the GPF) has been accepted to a fancy boarding school in Switzerland but Jack knows it's all a farce. There is always some mention of the mission to find Max, and in I think two of the eight or so books we've read so far there have been clues found, but I would still say you don't necessarily need to read these in chronological order. Though ideally I would prefer to read them that way, we have skipped around a bit based on what the library has had available and it hasn't been a problem. When mentioning a clue found in a previous book, a thorough enough recap is given that you don't feel like you're missing anything.
June 14, 2017
This book was scarier than the first in the series. My son had to stop reading it before bed because he was getting too scared. Eventually he looked ahead at the pictures and found out that it turns out ok (even though I had assured him of that.... he had to see for himself) then we were able to finish it. I'm hoping they aren't all like this because it's a good boy series that all of my children (boys and girls alike) enjoy.
May 19, 2017
These books are a hit and a favorite for my son. It brings out my sons imagination for being a secret agent.
March 23, 2018
By far the best Jack Stalwart book I've read. I was even considering giving it three stars but it wouldn't have been fair.
February 1, 2020
This series is perfect for eight-year-old boys. It has travel, adventure, and gadgets. I like how each book contains facts about a different country.
July 24, 2022
My 6-year-old thought it was a good story.
April 26, 2011
This book is another good read to recommend to our young students with a high reading level. I started with the second book in the series "Secret Agent Jack Stalwart" and felt like it wasn't necessary to have read the first book. A prelude provides information about Jack, his family, and his secret agent equipment. When Jack's Whizzy, a magical miniature globe, spins, it coughs out a puzzle piece for Jack's world map. It reveals the location for his next mission, sucks him into the map, and sends him there. (This sort of made me think of Magic Treehouse books.) Jack has his handy book bag with everything he'll need for his missions. Jack has a determination to finish his mission and capture the evil villains. I liked it!
June 18, 2012
Same lines as before, with the benefit of pirates and sharks! What boy could resist? Is that gender-typing? Anyway, I'm getting the feeling that we're not going to learn anything about Jack's older brother's disappearance for awhile, if we're lucky. I'm leaning towards 'not at all'. Interesting that the book's entire premise of Jack joining the Agency is his brother, yet we're not learning anything about his disappearance...
I did enjoy the villain in this book ;)
I did enjoy the villain in this book ;)
February 12, 2016
Fine, fast-paced story about a kid secret agent--who fights real bad guys, has and uses a gun that can transform to shoot out tranquilizers and serums, and rescues good guys. Just what lots of kids want to read about, but without the high adventure and real consequences in classic kids' literature.
May 12, 2010
I'm back. Type to you soon. Big mistake. This book, same as the other one; infinity, infinity and you know, that stuff. This one had a dinosaur and this one had a treasure and a shark and even a pirate ship! Even a submarine. You should read number one of these Jack Stalwarts.
August 31, 2010
The Surrey Sharks of this story are actually the Barracudas - I know 'cos I was once one. Trivia reigns and we all get (very) wet.... hahahahahaha
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2008
Auden is really enjoying th eadventures the series offers.
March 6, 2014
Like magic treehouse but for a little more experienced readers with the spy twist.
October 27, 2014
I would give this book 3.5 or 3.6 stars. I liked the book. I also liked the pictures in the book. I'm going to read more of the books in this series.
October 1, 2015
A great book for a 7-year old. My son loves the Jack Stalwart series and of course mum needs to know what the book is about.
Update: daughter of same age loved it too
Update: daughter of same age loved it too
November 1, 2015
I think that this story was pretty good ,but they should have included more info about some of the characters.
July 31, 2019
Very short story. Very far fetched. But does teach a tiny bit about history.
June 20, 2022
I found this kids book when clearing out my bookshelf and I kinda read it cause I was bored and I was like - Damn, that's an actual ok kids book.
So this was what I was missing out on when I was 8.
So this was what I was missing out on when I was 8.
Read
October 27, 2018Go to the Reading Tub to see our review of Sunken Treasure and other Jack Stalwart books.
Read
December 3, 2018This adventure of Jack and Alice plus Harry was great
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews