KIRKUS REVIEW
A family denies their pirate roots until the scent of buried treasure brings out the pirate in each of them. The Silvers live in a ship-shaped house bequeathed them by their Grandma, Long Joan Silver, after a terrible accident befell her—hence, the taboo on things piratical. But young Scarlet loves everything about pirates. When she discovers a gold nugget one day, the family goes slightly crazy in their quest for more, tying back their hair with bandanas, protecting their eyes from flying mud with patches and adopting pirate lingo. When they eventually dig out their ship house and it’s afloat, they finally admit they’re pirates after all. Obvious inconsistencies plague the text—Dad builds Scarlet a treasure detector, despite the taboo, and Scarlet seems uncharacteristically unenthusiastic about her family’s transformations. But for fans of pirates, McConnell’s bright watercolor illustrations with their humorous details may be enough to salvage the text. Potential pirates will want to uncover this treasure; others may best leave it buried. (Picture book. 4-7)