Mystery in the Pirate Oak

Mystery in the Pirate Oak by Helen Fuller Orton (1949) An older Scholastic Book Services for younger kids than the kids’ books that I’m used to reading—two little kids on the cover (dead giveaway)—however, some fairly mature themes. The reason I picked it up, I’m sure, is because there’s also a tree fort—in a gnarly, old oak tree. It’s more of a platform than a treehouse, but better than a social media platform. I love treehouses. The story turns out to have a lot of complexity for a short book—including stamp collecting, an old legend, a new friend who is an old person, and a new friend who’s a spoiled rich kid. The brother and sister main characters have an alive mother, for a change—though their dad is dead. Their new rich kid friend, however, does have a dead mother (I’ve been keeping a tally). For some crazy reason, I had the inspiration to read a Nancy Drew book—The Message in the Hollow Oak—at the exact same time—I suppose to see if there was any connection, or if the older book (Nancy Drew) influenced this one. No doubt it did, to some degree—but then, I bet there are countless kids’ books out there about people hiding things in old oak trees—even though… has that ever really happened? Oh, the other good thing about this book—there was a really major thunderstorm. That and the treehouse.

11.5.24