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School Ship Tobermory

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By DeeDee

School Ship Tobermory
by Alexander McCall Smith
Delacorte Press, 2016. Fiction. 218 p.

Ben and Fee McTavish are brother/sister twin children of marine biologists. They have spent much of their early lives being home-schooled on their parent's submarine, but when it is time for them to go to boarding school they are sent to a school that is on a sailing ship. They quickly make friends--and enemies--and learn the difference between port and bow. On their first semester voyage some students from the Tobermory are invited to be extras in a movie about pirates, but is the the piracy all on film, or is there something more sinister going on?

This is delightfully innocent book by the author of the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series.  It is unusual because the kids actually make correct and responsible choices, demonstrating the good, obedient kids can have adventures, too.  Hooray! Here is a book with the charm of the Penderwicks that will appeal to both boys and girls. It is a good choice for fairly young children who are reading at an advanced level or for a family read-aloud where there is a variety of ages of listeners. It is available from the library in print and as an audio download.


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