Shipwreck Detective by Duncan Cameron/Richard Platt Date of Publication: 2006 ISBN:978-0-7566-2218-3 Number of Pages: 96

REQUIRED READING ABILITY: Junior: Average/High Intermediate: Average
GENRES: Non-Fiction/Mystery
THEMES : Survival – Appearance versus Reality – Life versus Death - Family

SUMMARY:
When professional diver Duncan Cameron finds a mysterious note in a sea trunk belonging to his late uncle, he and his sister Helle are intrigued. Apparently Uncle Joe found a treasure in gold on the seabed years ago, but couldn’t remove it at the time. Now, years later, he has left Duncan and Helle with a list of shipwrecks, a riddle, and a challenge – can they find the treasure, if it still exists?

Duncan’s journal records each exploration and clue, as well as diagrams, sketches, photographs, maps, and artifacts found along the way. The riddle guides their search, but as they explore such famous wrecks as the HMS Edinburgh and the Avondster, they find more questions than answers. Like an underwater Da Vinci Code, Duncan’s mysterious quest will eventually lead to a surprising result – as long as he and his sister manage to survive along the way…

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...
- is fascinated by shipwrecks
- likes reading stories in journal form
- is interested in Vikings, treasure, pirates, etc.
- loves the sea
- is interested in drawing and sketching
- likes “real stories”
- likes Dragonology, Wizardology, Pirateology, etc.

WHAT ELSE?
This book is essentially non-fiction, though the quest and letter are fiction. Readers will go through each of the actual shipwreck sites with Duncan, and learn about marine history and all things nautical from a first hand view.