The Tale of the Crooked Crab

There's wit, action and some lively characterisation in this tale of a mini-mutiny on a sailing ship when a Captain takes a holiday. There's a contemporary feel to the writing: the ship collides with an oil rig. I recommend you to look at this 'By Myself' series. It's had a very promising start, and this book was very popular with seven-year-olds. I like the fact that the language is accessible, without ever being prosaic, or over-simplified. The ship is described as 'a rainbow-coloured dancer, bobbing and nodding and slowly sinking': that's the kind of writing the very newly independent need.