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Peter Cooper and the Pirate King

James DeAcutis - Author

A fantasy adventure turns Peter’s wish to sail into a struggle to escape the Pirate King’s plan to sacrifice him. Blame after a house fire and an abduction bring danger into the story.

More about this book

"For thirteen-year old Peter Cooper nothing could ruin the start of summer and the thoughts of fun and adventure that lay ahead. Nothing, that is, until he finds himself on the menu of a centuries old madman hungering for his eternal soul. Raised by his aunt and uncle in their orphanage in the maritime village of Harmon, Peter grows up happy and dreaming of being a sailor. Yet after a brutal storm, Peter finds himself the target of evil machinations plotted by Bill Kyuper, the Pirate King. Long forgotten, the Pirate King returns every hundred years or so to partake in his "transfermashon," as he calls it, a process that will rejuvenate him by absorbing the life-force of a strong, young lad. After his family's house mysteriously burns down and blame is thrown at Peter, the young boy stows away on a ship and ends up on the man-made island of Pantagruel, where he's abducted by the Pirate King and taken to his lair on Scorpion Cove. It's there the young boy will have to fight for his life as the pirate and his minions seek to sacrifice him for Bill's transformation."--Page 4 of cover

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Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

Adventure· ExplainedFantasy· ExplainedDanger· Explained

Consider

Violence and harmViolence

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

adventurefantasydanger

FictionNovel

Themes in Context

Adventure and escalating peril

Peter’s summer plans are disrupted by a storm, blame for a house fire, and capture by the Pirate King, who intends to sacrifice him.Exploratory / explanatory

How the book presents it: The sequence builds the adventure around Peter’s growing danger and his struggle to survive.

Talk about: How does each new danger change what Peter might need to do to survive?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

The peril is direct and personal: Peter is pursued as a means to the Pirate King’s rejuvenation. The fantasy premise combines a supernatural threat with danger from the pirate and his followers.

What Deserves Attention

The story includes a brutal storm, a mysteriously burning home, abduction and a threatened sacrifice. These events may make the adventure intense for readers sensitive to danger or harm.

A Conversation Worth Having

If Peter’s dream of becoming a sailor matters to him during the danger, what do you think that dream represents—and what would you want him to do next?

Reading Approach

Read together in short stretches if the danger feels gripping, pausing to check how the reader is responding. You could also keep track of Peter’s changing circumstances without guessing who caused the fire.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.

What remains unconfirmed

Adventure and escalating peril: The danger centres on Peter’s abduction and the Pirate King’s threatened sacrifice of him.

Peter Cooper and the Pirate King - James DeAcutis - Google Books

Limited information

Checked: 1 October 2026.

Relevant to: Adventure and escalating peril

Peter Cooper and the Pirate King by James DeAcutis | Open Library