One of the great adventure novels of all time, I had the wonderful experience of reading this book to my 7 year old grandson, Simon mostly via Facetime but several chapters in person snuggled up in a big reading chair in Vermont.

We read from the 1949 Random House edition illustrated by William Sharp in both black and white and color plates, a book that I had as a child Simon’s age and which with its tattered cover and much turned pages, I’ve managed to keep through these seven decades.

Jim Hawkins, Squire Trelawney, Doctor Livesey, Captain Smollett, Long John Silver, Israel Hands, Captain Billy Bones, Blind Pew, Ben Gunn, and the good ship Hispaniola have well survived the test of time nearly 150 years after Stevenson penned this story for his own son.

Whether you’re seven or seventy-seven, this is a great adventure story and well worth the time.