The Diamond Ship

by Adrian Beckingham

Learn all about Captain John Taylor and the biggest pirate raid in history in this swashbuckling read Here’s a true story that waited 300 years to be told. It’s the most exciting moment in pirate history, and yet this little book is the first to tell it! What do pirates love more than anything? That’s right—treasure! It was in the year 1721 that a pirate captain named John Taylor took the largest single prize ever on the high seas. He and his crew of mutineers took a bounty that would take 48,000 years to earn on a sailor’s wages. The diamonds were bound for the King of Portugal. He had used slaves in India to mine them. Now they belonged to Captain Taylor. Did he share them fairly with his men? Would you? Find out what really happened, and learn some surprising pirate facts in this fun book.

122 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2015

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible. The narrator did an excellent job! He made a great pirate!! This book is for late elementary kids, but you'll enjoy listening to the story. I did struggle because it was below my reading level, but enjoyed it none the less. You'll learn interesting pirate facts and get a story all at the same time. I received this audio book in return for my honest review.

[RickyMolberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing storytelling. It is equally a triumph that a story which these highly successful pirates buried over 300 years ago into secrecy has finally come to light as a result of the author's intrepid research. The author Adrian Beckingham is also known as The Man from Story Mountain, and in this guise I have witnessed him performing as a storyteller. He has been a hired storyteller in 1000s of schools and 100s of festivals - including every Glastonbury festival the early 1990s. This lineage and quality of storytelling experience certainly shows through in The Diamond Ship, which will both fill you with facts that are genuinely interesting and helpful to learn, plus give you a laugh and a ripping story you will not forget easily.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a parent and a school teacher. I find this book suitable for children aged 12 and up. It is full of little known historical references about pirates plus the reader learns lots about pirate life such as pirate words and interesting facts about life on the ships. There were some good laughs here too.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a fun pirate story suitable for kids. There’s no cussing and the violence is kept to a minimum. It also breaks the fourth wall, talking directly to the audience to explain certain words or concepts (like ‘plunder’ or slavery). There’s plenty of humor and it’s fast-paced.

There’s only 1 female character, Ssshhh! (a young Indian lady out searching for her own treasure so that she can raise her family out of poverty). A few real-life female pirates are mentioned, but the ladies don’t really get a role in this tale until about the halfway mark. It felt like they were added in as an after thought. I would have liked to see a seasoned lady pirate (real or fictional) be a part of this story as that would be something so many other pirate stories don’t do.

The distinction between pirates and privateers is made in a rather humorous way and I really enjoyed how our in-story tale-teller related that to real life for kids. Imagine you had a note from your teacher that allowed you to steal from certain people, but then you had to bring your plunder back to that teacher for them to take their share of it. Ha! Yeah, privateers are probably worse than pirates. There’s a couple teaching moments like that in this book.

Over all, it was fun and I think it’d be great for a family car trip. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Guy Barnes was great! I loved his pirate voice with it’s gruffness and talk-like-a-pirate accent. He made each character distinct and had perfect timing for the humor. While there’s just a very short section where Ssshhh! actually talks, Barnes gave her a young voice with an Indian accent that I felt was decently done. There were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

[Nathan Winsor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale of pirates and their adventures on the high seas. High jinks, mischief and humor are interwoven with historical facts and observations of the period. Perfect for boys or girls interested in history and adventure. Exotic and faraway places fire the imagination while real historical and geographical details make the story interesting and informative. The narrator’s accent, voice and style of speech is like a real live pirate spinning the yarn. The storytelling is amusing but easy to follow. Luckily there is plenty of comedic relief to bring levity to the otherwise harsh realities of pirate life. The main character is an intelligent, tuff and resourceful kid who would be easy for most young people to relate to. As a parent and educator I would recommend this audiobook for both boys or girls in the 7-10 age range.

[Mindy Hartwell]

Full of fun detail and lots of interesting facts! This story is perfect for the young enthusiast! The narration was so perfect that I had kept catching myself speaking in my pirate voice during our listening breaks!
This is the perfect audio book for traveling with your swashbuckling kiddos!