Treasure Island by Tim Hamilton

Treasure Island Reviews

• 
  Manybooks

  Well, for the intended audience, for in my humble opinion older children from about the age of nine to probably thirteen or fourteen, Fiona MacDonald’s 2007 graphic novel adaptation of Robert Louis Steveson’s 1883 pirate novel Treasure Island does I guess provide a general cartoon strip like summary (or introduction), touching on the basics of main protagonist Jim Hawkins’ adventures and misadventures both at home (on dry land) and later at sea. And yes, Fiona MacDonald fortunately does manage to keep her description of arch-villain Long John Silver sufficiently nasty and brutal (and as such of course akin and alike to Robert Louis Steveson’s textual rendition of him), with this graphic novel adaptation of Treasure Island also at least to a point managing to depict and demonstrate with Fiona MacDonald’s printed words and Penko Gelev’s full colour, cartoony but historically accurate and realistic accompanying illustrations the many dangers encountered by Jim Hawkins and that life in late 18th century England was in fact and indeed rather unpredictable and often fraught with many potential threats.
  
  However, I also and equally must admit that I most definitely do consider Fiona MacDonald’s abridged textual rendering of Robert Louis Steveson’s 1883 narrative majorly frustrating, annoying and not at all in any way a personal reading pleasure, finding Macdonald’s adaptation of Treasure Island at barely fifty pages too woefully simplistic, too majorly lacking in details (too short, too devoid of verbal descriptions, of backstories, of basically all that which makes the original novel so interesting, so engaging and thus a classic), and with deus ex machina like transitions from one scenario to the next that are ridiculously choppy, unfinished and distracting. And yes indeed, this has (at least to and for me) also quite turned my invested reading time with Fiona MacDonald’s Treasure Island into rather a major and unwanted chore instead of joyful perusing (with only the fact that I actually do consider Penko Gelev’s artwork as aesthetically and visually appealing having my rating still be two stars, and with my further caveat being that I actually would also have thought Fiona MacDonald’s text for Treasure Island too lacking in information and description as a child and as a teenager, so yes, I do think that even for the intended audience, MacDonald’s words are barely adequate and not really a sufficiently readable and interesting enough adaptation of Robert Louis Steveson).
• 
  Abby Frye

  Not the best classic to graphic novel adaptation I have ever seen. A bit rough and lacking even the same feel of the original.
• 
  Jessica

  I'm reading this to Deborah right now. I love sticking with the classics for her! I get to read stuff I should have read, she gets exposed to great literature by hearing it which is more accessible than reading it. We both win!
• 
  Kevin

  Keaton and I read this one together. He loved it!
• 
  Tricia

  This version committed a grave sin: it made the story boring. I also don't much like Gelev's graphic style, but the dry rendition of the tale is even worse.
• 
  Andrew

  I’m not sure who this book is for. It’s an effective summary of the plot. I found it useful to help me remember the real book. But this graphic novel isn’t enjoyable in its own right. It’s not a substitute for and lacks all the charm of the real book. So it’s a cliffs notes in graphic novel form?
• 
  Truly

  Buku ini mendadak muncul di antara timbunan yang dirapikan. Saya ingat sekali, dibeli saat ada obralan sadis pada salah satu pameran buku. Harga 100 rb menjadi 5 ribu (jika tidak salah).
  
  Kisah tentang pulau harta memang sudah sering dicetak, seperti juga buku klasik yang sejenis. Namun selalu ada yang baru, tetap menarik untuk dibaca.
• 
  A Voracious Reader (a.k.a. Carol)

  *Book source ~ Library
  
  Do I really need to summarize this book? It’s Treasure Island, a classic for Pete’s sake! Ok, ok…Jim Hawkins is a young son of an innkeeper. When a drunken pirate, Billy Bones, comes to stay at the inn he tells Jim many different stories, but he also has Jim keep a weather eye out for a pirate with a wooden leg. Hawkins and Long John Silver end up sailing to an island looking for buried treasure. Much shenanigans ensue.
  
  Ok, I’ve read Treasure Island before. But this is the graphic novel. It does a pretty good job of conveying everything that was in the original book in a short amount of pages. I didn’t particularly care for the artwork though. It seemed sparse and unfinished. But then again, I like a lot of detail and color. If you want a short quick read of Treasure Island then this graphic novel may do the trick.
  
• 
  Chance

  This book surprised me.
  
  I expected a short, passable children's story about pirates, but it actually turned out to be fairly sophisticated for its target audience.
  
  It certainly has some shortcomings: scenes that cried for more illustration, missed opportunities for character development, and gaps in the fictional history.
  
  What was good: (mostly) great pacing, violent action sequences, and clever moments of tension between the characters.
  
  This is a quick, fun read and I suggest to anyone who has even the mildest interest in the romanticizing of pirates...it's worth reading just to see the source material for so much pop culture.
• 
  Kerri

  This isn't actually the version I read because Goodreads doesn't have the version I read, called Treasure Island, Graphic Resolve. This graphic novel version is only 75 pages and nice, concise, and simple for kids to get an overview of the original story. I liked the graphics and the simple language...for the right audience. My 3rd grade son enjoyed it for example. The story features just the highlights of the original story but it is a nice adaptation.
  
• 
  North Landesman

  The graphic novel version of Treasure Island. When we teach TI, the hardest part for the students to understand in the language and basic plot. While I do not think a regular book should ever be substituted for a graphic novel, there is some possiblity that reading the graphic novel after the actual text could help understand the text better. I appeciate that the author used the text from the book.
• 
  Tessa

  My seven year old really likes comics but I want him to read only the best books (so little time, after all!) that this Graphic Classics series was a great meeting in the middle for us. He enjoyed the story and the format and got exposure to a literary classic which, hopefully, he'll pick up and read in it's original format someday because he'll already have a connection with the story.
• 
  Tamara

  This was a faithful adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Treasure Island. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to be in color. Tim Hamilton the adapter and illustrator has a bonus section after the story featuring his sketching process and how he pictured the characters.
• 
  Amanda

  I've never read the real one. Oh dear.
• 
  Tim Hamilton

  I drew this as a graphic novel
• 
  Jen

  Ugh. So disappointing! If your child (or you) is not ready for the original, you need to get the book on tape or something, but this version doesn't add to, and even takes away from, the original.
• 
  Aidan

  I liked it but there were so many characters.
• 
  Taylor Gaton

  i read it in 6th grade for a school reading.. it was one of the best books i read back then
• 
  Mary C.

  It's one of those classics you just have to read. need I say more?
• 
  Jared Johnson

  I thought the book was fun to read because of the pictures. I recommend this book for anyone who likes graphic novels.
• 
  Trucie

  One of my favourite stories, retold with wonderfully atmospheric illustrations. A book to treasure.
• 
  Julian H.

  this book is fiction
• 
  Jon

  I don't give "Treasure Island" the classic a 1-star, only this graphic novel version of it.