Queen Liliuokalani: Royal Prisoner (Treasure Chest Series #6)

by Ann Hood, Denis Zilber (Illustrator)

Overview

In Book 6 of The Treasure Chest, Felix and Maisie take a trip to New York City to visit their father and meet his new girlfriend. While there, Maisie reveals to Felix that she has a jeweled crown she took from The Treasure Chest. The twins travel to Hawaii in the late 1800s, where they spend time with the royal family and continue to master the magic of time-travel. There, they meet a young girl named Lydia who will one day grow up to be Queen Liliuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698159433
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/27/2013
Series:	Penguin Treasure Chest Series , #6
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Ann Hood is the author of the middle-grade novel How I Save My Father's Life (and Ruined Everything Else), and has written several adult novels, including An Orinthologist's Guide to Life, The Knitting Circle, Comfort, and The Red Thread. Her work has appeared in the The Paris Review, O, and elsewhere. Visit her at annhood.us.

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2014
Gr 4–6—Twins Maisie and Felix struggle to adjust to their parents' recent divorce and all the changes that spring from it. They move to their great-uncle's house and find a chest filled with objects that whisk them through time and give them a task to complete. Each time they do this, their great-uncle becomes younger and he begs them to stop, as he cannot bear watching his lady-love succumb to old age without him. The twins go through time anyway. In this adventure in 19th-century Hawaii, the siblings have a crown and are tasked with giving it to "Lydia," aka the future Queen Liliuokalani. They are welcomed into the royal family and learn about Hawaiian culture, and the sociopolitical changes of the time. Along the way, they lose the magic crown, find it again, get chased and kidnapped, escape, meet Herman Melville, complete their task, and get whisked home with a deeper understanding about the inevitability of change. Hawaii is somewhat exoticized and readers are expected to share the perspective of the protagonists' experiences; namely, one of an upper middle-class U.S. East Coast perspective. When their kidnappers plan to take them to Tahiti, Felix fears "natives with spears" and "cannibals." The two kids have distinct personalities and share a tender bond with one another. Content and vocabulary seamlessly blend the complex with the simple. The story also works in many details of 19th-century Hawaii, such as whaling ships and missionaries. After the fictional adventure, the book offers a brief biography of Queen Liliuokalani, Herman Melville, and some facts about 1959, the year Hawaii became a state. Kids who have outgrown the "Magic Treehouse" may enjoy this new series.—Amelia Jenkins, Juneau Public Library, AK

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