The beachcombers - Helen Cresswell

Ned's poverty-stricken mother can only afford to send him away alone on holiday to the seaside, to stay with the Pickering family. Shifty and unpleasant, the Pickerings earn a living trawling through people's old junk, and Ned distrusts them immediately. His only pleasure is wandering along the beach, and it is here that he meets the charismatic Dallaker family, who have washed up ashore on their grand old sailing ship, The Sea Queen. Free-spirited, kind and honest, the Dallakers become regular company for Ned, and when he discovers they are searching for their long-lost treasure - he wants to help. But then he finds out that the Pickerings are looking for the treasure, too. Ned must find a way to help his friends the Dallakers, before the greedy Pickerings discover his betrayal. A wonderfully evocative and classic story . . .