Stanley Brambles and the Pirate's Treasure

Book excerpt: Twelve-year-old Stanley Brambles is an average kid. He lives in the boring, small town of East Stodgerton, has a regular family-a mom, a dad, and a dog-and his life is one long routine. But all that changes one day when he meets his great uncle, Jackson Warrington Lee. Rumour has it that Uncle Jack was once the most feared pirate to ever sail the seven seas-and now Stanley wants to uncover his secrets. A humdrum visit to Uncle Jack's seaside mansion quickly turns into the adventure of a lifetime as Stanley and his friends, Alabaster Lancaster and Prunella "Nell" Hawthorne, are whisked off to a strange and wonderful world, where vicious prehistoric fish dominate the aquatic food chain and pirates still plough the waves. But there's more than piracy afoot. A sinister power is at work in this world, and Stanley is more than a little surprised to learn that he has somehow drawn its attention. A rollicking story full of adventure and danger, good versus evil, and the strength and importance of friendship, Stanley Brambles and the Pirate's Treasure brilliantly shows that even seemingly ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things.