Watch Kids' Reviews of
JUNIOR DETECTIVES AND THE CITIES OF GOLD, THE

Fun, easy to visualize, captivating and a great story. Helping each other face up to and overcome fears is a wonderful thing - especially when buried treasure is involved. There is some violence that doesn't need to be here. The bad guys have guns and knives and hold the children at knifepoint and gunpoint more than once. The bad man slaps a worker and smacks Sandy. It's part of the story and eventually good overcomes bad but, the writer could be more creative with this. There is mild kissing between fifth and sixth graders - doesn't need to be there. The good in the screenplay far outweighs the negative. However, cleaning up the language would be simple and would not detract from the story and viewers would appreciate it. Kids would enjoy unraveling the mystery of the hidden treasure and learning that the kids onscreen have fears they have to overcome that are similar to their own. While this plot is pretty standards evil vs. good, hunting for treasure and facing waterfalls and cliffs, it's still captivating. It weaves in Native American history and culture and has a solid beginning, middle and end with believable twists. It's weak in that the kids are never really taken to task for disobeying their parents and getting themselves into unsafe situations and it's strong in close sibling relations with both Peter and his brother and with Jackie and Sandy. It unfolds well. Has a very satisfying ending with all the loose ends getting tied up. It's refreshing to see the lack of greed as the treasure given to Boone who then shared his wealth by surprise gifts based n each characters' individual desires and dreams. It's a page turner. Good pace.

A boy who's afraid of the dark joins forces with other misfit kids to find a hidden treasure on a Caribbean island, but they'll have to overcome their phobias to triumph.