The Pirates' Lost Map🏴‍☠️

A map lands on the bed, and the sound of waves fills the bedroom. Soon your child is standing on deck, where the crew is waiting for a captain who can read the map. The parrot never stops talking and has a habit of squawking secrets at just the wrong moment, causing trouble more than once.

The journey leads across the open sea, through a storm where everyone must help with the sails, and into a hidden cove. On Skull Island, clues lie beneath palm trees and inside caves, and the red cross isn’t quite where you’d expect. You’ll have to read the book to find out what’s in the chest and who lost the map in the first place.

This idea is for children who build ships out of sofa cushions, have been on a boat on holiday or simply like being in charge. It’s a story about leading a crew fairly, with a captain who listens to others and shares what they find.

A three-year-old may love the rushing waves, the parrot’s mimicry and the spinning ship’s wheel. An eight-year-old can follow the compass directions on the map, work out what the parrot’s chatter is really giving away and think about what makes a good captain when the crew disagrees.

Siblings and friends can join as first mate and lookout, and the cat can become the ship’s cat, complete with its own hammock. Perhaps the parrot could sound like someone in the family? Describe your child’s bedroom and bedding so that’s where the map lands, and mention something they’d love to find in a treasure chest, even if it’s just a shiny stone.

Afterwards, draw your own treasure map of your home or garden, with a red cross marking where something is hidden. Next time, let your child hide something for you and draw the map themselves. Find more adventures with maps and chests under Treasure hunt.