It’s never a dull moment in the Pirate Island where Jake and The Never Land Pirates are based. With Captain Hook and his lively crew around featuring Mr Smee, Sharky and Bones, every adventure is a misadventure and follows the same pattern. It usually begins with Captain Hook getting an idea, his crew rejecting it, then going with it and ends with Captain Hook running away from the idea.

In After A While, Crocodile, Jake and his friends Izzy, Cubby and Skully the Parrot, encounter Captain Hook who is on his way to Crocodile Creek to hunt for a treasure. Since Crocodile Creek is the home of Tick Tock Croc — Captain Hook’s nemesis — he wants to hit it where it hurts the most. However, bad planning, not listening to his crew and wayward decisions ensure that Captain Hook’s plan doesn’t succeed.

Somehow it does succeed, but that’s because of the timely interference from Jake and The Never Land Pirates. How they manage to switch the game in Captain Hook’s favour is something to look forward to, or read about.

This book is not much different from the Disney Junior animated series and if you read it carefully, become involved in the pictures and the text at the same time, it might seem like watching the story on TV.

Everything from Jake’s presence of mind to Izzy’s Pixie Dust and Cubby’s detection comes into play here, mostly to save Captain Hook from being eaten by Tick Tock Crock. There is other stuff in this book you can learn by going through it, such as ‘never underestimate the opposition’, ‘always have a Plan B’, and ‘listening to your friends’ to name a few.

Add the silly riddles and comments from Skully and you have a fun-filled adventure where the good guys always win, whether it’s by ‘Hook’ or by ‘Croc’!

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 8th, 2020