Secret of the Shark Pit

Title: Secret of the Shark Pit

Author: Lee Roddy

Pages: 114

Grade Level: 4th+

I’ll start with a fascinating fact about the author. He authored the Jesus film for Campus Crusade for Christ. Now, that has nothing to do with the story, just thought it was a fascinating fact. The story is set in Hawaii and features Josh Ladd, his family and a few friends.

Josh Ladd is a fellow who loves adventures. Unfortunately, his best friend Tank moved to Hawaii. Now school is really boring because there is no one to have adventures with. Luckily, Josh’s dad caught a writing assignment that will take the whole family to Hawaii. Before they leave, Josh is waylaid by a strange man asking strange questions about his Dad. Then their house is burglarized. After the burglary, Mr. Ladd tells the family about his writing assignment. The assignment is actually about secret artifacts that are hidden in a dark cave. Mr. Ladd has a map that will lead him to these artifacts.

The family flies to Hawaii and are greeted by Tank and his family. Of course, trouble follows the Ladds. They get into many exciting scrapes. They have many fun adventures one that includes Josh nearly drowning. Another where Josh nearly getting eaten by a shark while trying to follow Mr. Ladd to the treasure.

I thought it was a pretty normal children’s book series. Not the most fabulous grammar, plot or sentence structure, but it's very high paced and exciting. It’s a fun read for kids, but it’s not very instructive or very substantial. It would be a great book for reluctant readers due to its high pace. I was also impressed with the way that Mr. Ladd handled his son, Josh at the end of the book. Josh had saved the day, but he had also disobeyed his father. Mr. Ladd acknowledges those facts and still punishes Josh for being disobedient.