By: Gerald Hawksley,
on 10/21/2016
GRAB YOURSELF SOME FREE TREASURE!
My kindle ebook for kids, TREASURE is free!
Now TREASURE is FREE! (from 21st - 23rd October)
By: Patrick Girouard,
on 6/10/2016
By: Gerald Hawksley,
on 5/31/2016
FREE TREASURE!
TREASURE is FREE today! (May 31st)
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By: Zoe,
on 1/3/2016
I wanted a brilliant book to start the new year with and I’ve unearthed real treasure with How to Find Gold by Viviane Schwarz (@vivschwarz), out later this week in the UK.
Anna is a girl with an inspirational can-do attitude. She decides she wants to find gold with her friend (a crocodile) and refuses to be put off or to give up, simply because the task might be risky or hard to achieve.
Issues which might seem like problems to some are acknowledged by young Anna, but they never put her off her stride. Instead, her positive take on life, her ability to see opportunities rather than obstacles and the power of her imagination enable her and Crocodile to have tremendous fun looking for (and indeed finding) gold, even if (or partly because?) it is dangerous and difficult.
Together the friends search high and low, sailing the seven seas and facing terrible monsters before finding a chest full of treasure in a sunken wreck. But having found the treasure do they keep it? What is more valuable to them? Piles of gold to have and to hold or the wonderful experiences they’ve shared by together being brave, hopeful and believing in themselves?
In some regards, this outstanding picture book echoes Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch, both conveying an inspiring message that anything is possible if you allow yourself to really go after your dreams. Both also happen to feature black girls, though in neither instance is this what the books are about. Their messages are much more universal – about having fun, about self-belief, about letting your imagination take flight to fruition.
Schwarz’s tale is full of humour, both in her words and imagery. The looks of determination and delight on Anna’s face, the unassuming dead-pan delivery of her decisions, her friend’s (mostly) calm absorption of Anna’s apparent impetuosity – all will make you smile.
Schwarz also uses colour brilliantly to intensify the adventure these two undertake. Monochrome real life is contrasted with a richly vibrant hunt for treasure.
Courageous, joyous and imaginative, Anna is a hero to enliven us all. This funny manifesto for adventuring with friends, for embracing challenges, for not giving up on looking for gold, whatever form it takes for you is outstanding. I can’t think of a better way to start my reading year, or yours.
Of course we were chomping at the bit for our own treasure hunt having read How to Find Gold but first we had to ensure there were plenty of gold coins to find in amongst the hoard of jewels.
We took inspiration from our box of coins from around the world, choosing those with designs on them which we especially liked.
We then placed these coins under gold confectionery wrappers (thin golden tin foil) in order to transfer their designs to the foil.
We also designed our own coins, using golden embossing paper and kebab sticks.
Next up we melted lots of chocolate and dropped dollops onto the foil (flipped over, so the gold side was face down).
An hour or two in the fridge later and we had our first glimpse at how our hoard of golden dubloons was coming along…
All that was left was to wrap the edges of the foil around the hardened chocolate to complete our chocolate coins and amass our amazing pile of gold:
Making our own treasure was definitely as much fun as finding it!
Whilst making money we listened to:
Other activities which might work well alongside reading How to Find Gold include:
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Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of this book by the publisher.
By: Thomas James,
on 7/18/2015
Submitted by Janice Fried for the Illustration Friday topic TREASURE.
By: Zoe,
on 10/5/2014
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen is full of near misses but ends up being one big hit. Forget the treasure that may or may not be buried under your feet, pick this book up and you’ll have a real gem in your hands.
It starts like this:
Apropos of seemingly nothing, Sam and Dave decide to dig a hole.
They’re only going to stop when they find “something spectacular”.
They don’t have much luck, but… in a brilliantly crafted piece of drama they come oh so painfully, excruciatingly close.
Many picture book creators have talked about how they see their books as mini pieces of theatre, and this book delivers a very special theatrical experience; like in a pantomime when you might call out “He’s behind you!”, only for the innocent character on stage to turn and see nothing, the reader/listener has special knowledge that poor Sam and Dave do not. With beautifully textured, muted illustrations revealing something quite different to what is known from the text, children treated to this story get a special thrill from “being in the know”, from seeing the truly spectacular buried treasure that the poor protagonists keep missing.
This empowering experience is doubled up through association with Sam and Dave’s little dog. Despite being small and just a side kick (like many children sometimes feel), the dog seems to have all the brains. He is the one who keeps sensing just how close the diamonds are. He is the one who makes the breakthrough, resulting in Sam and Dave appearing to have dug all the way through to …
…well, to what? To where? Although this book was authored by Barnett, the ending feels like classic Klassen: It’s full of ambiguity and multiple possible readings. Have Sam and Dave dug all the way through from one side of the earth to the other? Have they managed through some Möbius-strip-like convolution to dig all the way through to end up back where they started? Or have they discovered something genuinely spectacular – some new dimension where slightly different rules are at play?
Finely honed, pared-back text and seemingly quiet illustrations which actually pack a very funny punch combine to make this a winner. Do look out for Sam & Dave Dig a Hole!
Inspired by Sam and Dave’s digging we decided to do a little bit of digging ourselves. Using these guidelines from Suffolk County Council, we dug what is known by archaeologists as a “test pit” in the middle of the lawn in our back garden.
We marked out a square and I took off the top layer of turf before the girls started digging down, retrieving any “treasure” they found on the way.
They used a large garden sieve to go through the soil they removed, and a toothbrush to wash what they found.
As you can see we found quite a lot of “treasure” including something metal but unidentifiable (top left of the photo below), a section of Victorian clay pipe stem, several pieces of pottery and a surprising number of large bones! (oh, and a hippo…..)
At some point when my back was turned the game developed into something a little different – M made a “time capsule” in an old icecream tub and insisted that it got buried when the time came to fill in our hole.
So I guess this means we’ll be digging another hole at some point in the future. Given how much fun we had with this one, I won’t be complaining.
We weren’t listening to music whilst we dug our hole, but were we to choose some music to match Sam & Dave Dig a Hole we might include these in our playlist:
Other activities you could enjoy along side reading this hilarious book include:
What’s your favourite hole? A hole you made? A hole you visited? A hole which allows you to sneak through into some secret space?
Disclosure: I was sent a free review copy of this book from the publisher but was under no obligation to review it and received no payment for doing so.
By: Faith Pray,
on 10/4/2012
By: nicole,
on 6/10/2012
By: nicole,
on 6/9/2012
By: Zoe,
on 5/30/2012
The Pirates Next Door by Jonny Duddle has been on my to-review pile for a long time. I really rather like the book, but I’ve found it hard to write a review because I can’t help but read it as a satirical story, commenting on society’s attitudes towards “outsiders” (immigrants, travellers, people who are somehow “other”). It’s been difficult for me to find the words to write a book review rather than a political rant.
M (7) would say it’s a extremely funny story about a dream scenario: just how exciting would it be if a real pirate family pitched up to live in our street whilst they repaired their ship? Answer: VERY! And if they left treasure chests behind? …Even better!
My adult head says it’s a rather acutely observed tale about how most people in a neighbourhood react with horror when an strange family arrive in town; there are complaints the pirates don’t wash, they are untidy, they terrorize the people they come into contact with. All in all, most of the pirates’ (grown up) neighbours agree “they won’t fit in round here”.
After a long list of complaints from neighbours, the pirates eventually move on their way, leaving behind wealth and a display of generosity that puts the local residents to shame.
Did Duddle write this book as a commentary on society’s attitudes to “outsiders”? I don’t know. What I do know is that it speaks strongly to me because of my own experience of foreigner nimby-ism: I once had a family of Kurdish refugees as neighbours who enriched my life with generous gifts of lamb dishes perfumed with dill, and stories of humanity against a backdrop of the atrocities committed against their families by Saddam Hussain. They were lovely people. And yet I witnessed them being harassed, abused and threatened by local residents, residents who didn’t even know where they came from (always calling my neighbours Turks – completely incorrectly) but who for some reason felt threatened by this kind, creative family.
But put aside this personal connection, and you’re still left with a great book (indeed, earlier this year it won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize). Told in rhyme (I want to sing the text, playing my accordion, as if it were a sea shanty that a pirate might very well sing themselves), this is a story for kids of dreams come true. What fun to have naughty neighbours doing everything that you’ve always wanted to do yourself (not having to wash, making people walk the plan, dressing up like a pirate), and how brilliant that in the end they leave you treasure and invite them to sail away with them next holidays.
The illustrations are glossy and remind me of Pixar animations – no doubt these will appeal hugely to kids used to a diet of tv/film/game animation. There are lots of fun details in the pictures (
By: Nicola,
on 4/2/2012
For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics have brought readers closer to the world’s finest writers and their works. Making available popular favourites as well as lesser-known books, the series has grown to 700 titles – from the 4,000 year-old myths of Mesopotamia to the twentieth-century’s greatest novels. Yet many of our readers first acquainted themselves with an Oxford World’s Classic as a child. In the below videos, Peter Hunt, who was responsible for setting up the first course in children’s literature in the UK, reintroduces us to The Secret Garden, The Wind in the Willows, and Treasure Island.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Click here to view the embedded video.
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Click here to view the embedded video.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Click here to view the embedded video.
Peter Hunt was the first specialist in Children’s Literature to be appointed full Professor of English in a British university. Peter Hunt has written or edited eighteen books on the subject of children’s literature, including An Introduction to Children’s Literature (OUP, 1994) and has edited Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Wind in the Willows, Treasure Island and The Secret Garden for Oxford World’s Classics.
Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Image by Wolfgang Staudt via Flickr
My dad manufactures toilet seat protectors. He’s obsessed about the thinness of the paper, how to fold it the right way so when people grab one it’s ready to go and cutting the center out just right so it makes sense from a profit standpoint and makes customers happy. There’s a lot of math that goes into those things just so people can well, you-know disease free. I mean it’s an industry that never existed in the 60s, 70s, 80s or even the 90s. It’s a New Millenium Industry. People make fortunes killing germs that have always been around.
Which leads me to the last time math was my friend. I was somewhere between California and New Mexico and I had to make a break from a, let’s say venue, where the po-po were putting two-and-two together and I discovered I was broke. And as I was on the run and the first place I came across was a Shell station, I bolted myself inside the bathroom. I leaned up against the white tile wall trying to catch my breath, trying to figure out what to do. But it turned out I couldn’t think too well with those crazy bright lights blaring and those seat protectors staring. All I could think to do was rifle through my pockets. Which sounds easy but I had tons of them. It’s the first thing you do on the road–acquire pockets. But that’s another story.
Anyway, I’m rifling and in the lowest pocket of my cargo pants, I find it. A five dollar bill. It was like finding a small bottle of Magie Noir. Money and perfume was all I dreamed about once I’d scored my ride which I had to abandon. So I peeked outside the door and when the coast was clear I walked to the Stop & Go and put my $5 down on a $1 half gallon of water, which was so over-the-top expensive but investing twenty percent of my fortune on water was what I had to do as I had the rest of the desert to cross. And just as a police car pulled into the station, that ex-con behind the counter made my change, counting the bills as he placed them in my hand, “That’s five, six, seven, eight, and nine.”
0 Comments on Answer: The last time math was my friend as of 1/1/1900
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Now that alliances have been exposed, Kendra and her Fablehaven bunch are deciding whether or not to try to find the remaining artifacts that are needed to open the dreaded prison before the Sphinx and his followers do, or whether they should just leave everything be.
The decision is made when Kendra is taken and her sting bulb doppelganger is left in her place. She is being held by the Sphinx's minions and finds out that they have stolen the Oculus; the artifact from the Brazilian preserve that allows users to see everything at once. Kendra knows that the Sphinx can use this to find all of the artifacts needed to open the dreaded prison Zzyxz. She needs to escape and try to get to the artifact that Patton told her about in his journal before the Sphinx figures out how the Oculus works.
Once she is reunited with her grandparents and her Fablehaven family, it is quickly decided that they must venture to Wyrmroost, the dragon sanctuary where humans are NOT welcome, in order to get the artifact. The team is assembled and includes Kendra, Coulter, Tanu, Gavin, Warren, Trask, Mora, and Dougan. All have gifts that will help with the mission, but Kendra is still scared. She is happy that Gavin is coming, and not only for his dragon taming abilities. They have been exchanging letters, and Kendra is still harboring a bit of a crush.
All feelings have to be pushed aside once they reach Wyrmroost. It is a very dangerous place, and everyone has to be on his/her game to survive, let alone succeed.
Brandon Mull has written another fast paced, twist and turn filled adventure, where people aren't who they seem, and death lurks around every corner. The pacing is perfect and will keep readers on they edge of their seats as they expect the worst but hope for the best. In this installment, Seth is exploring his dark side, and is developing a depth that he didn't have before. He is quickly becoming a favorite character of mine.
I have always thought that Fablehaven would translate well to screen, and it is about to! It has been optioned, and I for one, can't wait to see the film version. Head on over to Brandon's site to find more information.
My father told me a version of this strange tale when I was a child.
Many centuries ago, a green and fertile land became the scene of a conflict between two rulers - the White Count and the Black Count. Eventually the two counts lined up their opposing forces and fought a brief and bloody war from which the Black Count’s troops emerged victorious!
Safe in his tall, black tower, replete with the latest in crenellated wall features and dungeon accessories, the Black Count relished the war report from his trusty General.
“We overran the evil White Count’s forces my Lord, and they scattered in fear. The land is yours!” The General bowed low enough for the feathers in his iron helmet to sweep the ground at his master’s feet.
“Excellent.” The Black Count smiled with satisfaction, leaned back in his throne and pressed his hands together. Then, looking over the tips of his fingers, he regarded the General with narrowed eyes. “But what of the White Count, and all of his treasure? I do not see his head on a spike. I do not see bearers bringing chests of jewels and gold. What of these things?”
The General cleared his throat, glancing around the throne room with nervous eyes. Once more he bowed very low to the ground.
“My Lord, the White Count retreated to his white castle and remains there. His treasures are hidden and nobody knows the secret of their whereabouts.”
The Black Count leaped to his feet with barely suppressed fury. Gesturing wildly, he bellowed commands at his general, his servants and anyone else within earshot. One by one his soldiers and courtiers hurried to their appointed tasks.
I will not bore you with the story of how the Black Count’s army marched to the fortress of the White Castle, nor how they laid seige to it and gave battle until at last the White Count was captured in disgrace. Suffice it to say that before much time had passed, the White Count found himself on his knees at the Black Castle with an executioner’s tool at his neck and the Black Count standing over him in victory.
“Tell me the secret. Tell me where your gold and jewels are hidden,” demanded the Black Count, “or you will feel the axe at your neck.”
“I will never tell,” replied the White Count proudly.
Three more times the Black Count asked his question, and three more times he received the same answer. At last, frustrated, he gave up all hope of uncovering the whereabouts of the White Count’s riches and ordered the executioner to swing his axe and separate his adversary’s head from his body.
The watching crowd held its collective breath as the black-hooded executioner raised his axe high up into the air.
Suddenly, the White Count let out a cry.
“Wait! I’ll tell you. It’s . . . “
But it was too late. The axe fell with a thud and the White Count’s head rolled across the ground, landing at the feet of his enemy. He took the secret of his hidden treasure to the grave.
And the moral of the story is: you should never hatchet your Counts before they chicken.
My father told me a version of this strange tale when I was a child.
Many centuries ago, a green and fertile land became the scene of a conflict between two rulers - the White Count and the Black Count. Eventually the two counts lined up their opposing forces and fought a brief and bloody war from which the Black Count’s troops emerged victorious!
Safe in his tall, black tower, replete with the latest in crenellated wall features and dungeon accessories, the Black Count relished the war report from his trusty General.
“We overran the evil White Count’s forces my Lord, and they scattered in fear. The land is yours!” The General bowed low enough for the feathers in his iron helmet to sweep the ground at his master’s feet.
“Excellent.” The Black Count smiled with satisfaction, leaned back in his throne and pressed his hands together. Then, looking over the tips of his fingers, he regarded the General with narrowed eyes. “But what of the White Count, and all of his treasure? I do not see his head on a spike. I do not see bearers bringing chests of jewels and gold. What of these things?”
The General cleared his throat, glancing around the throne room with nervous eyes. Once more he bowed very low to the ground.
“My Lord, the White Count retreated to his white castle and remains there. His treasures are hidden and nobody knows the secret of their whereabouts.”
The Black Count leaped to his feet with barely suppressed fury. Gesturing wildly, he bellowed commands at his general, his servants and anyone else within earshot. One by one his soldiers and courtiers hurried to their appointed tasks.
I will not bore you with the story of how the Black Count’s army marched to the fortress of the White Castle, nor how they laid seige to it and gave battle until at last the White Count was captured in disgrace. Suffice it to say that before much time had passed, the White Count found himself on his knees at the Black Castle with an executioner’s tool at his neck and the Black Count standing over him in victory.
“Tell me the secret. Tell me where your gold and jewels are hidden,” demanded the Black Count, “or you will feel the axe at your neck.”
“I will never tell,” replied the White Count proudly.
Three more times the Black Count asked his question, and three more times he received the same answer. At last, frustrated, he gave up all hope of uncovering the whereabouts of the White Count’s riches and ordered the executioner to swing his axe and separate his adversary’s head from his body.
The watching crowd held its collective breath as the black-hooded executioner raised his axe high up into the air.
Suddenly, the White Count let out a cry.
“Wait! I’ll tell you. It’s . . . “
But it was too late. The axe fell with a thud and the White Count’s head rolled across the ground, landing at the feet of his enemy. He took the secret of his hidden treasure to the grave.
And the moral of the story is: you should never hatchet your Counts before they chicken.
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By: Shari Lyle-Soffe ,
on 4/7/2009
By: Shari Lyle-Soffe ,
on 4/3/2009
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By: Mary Cunningham,
on 5/9/2008
Hidden, By Dotti Enderle
Illustrated by T. Kyle Gentry
Pelican Publishing Company (August 15, 2007)
Hidden is a treasure.
"You can learn a lot from dead people. You just have to know where to look," says twelve-year-old Fiona, the day after her grandmother's funeral. She's none too happy about being recruited by her mother to help sort through Grandma's worldly possessions. That is, until underneath the drawer of an old cash register, Fiona finds an intriguing anniversary card to Millie from Don, with a strange message about having found "a new hiding place." A new hiding place for what?
Unable to draw her mother or dad into the mystery, she turns to a newfound friend named Eugene who seems to appear at the drop of a hat, and disappear just as quickly, especially when Fiona wants to introduce him to her parents. They work together to interpret the clues hoping a valuable treasure will be found. The mystery turns deadly when Grandma's house is broken in to and searched, or as Fiona observes; It looks like the house puked.
Hidden is a real page-turner. I know that's an overused expression, but I couldn't stop reading! A very enjoyable story for 8-12 and beyond. This adult reader enjoyed it immensely. Dotti Enderle's writing is funny, family-friendly, descriptive and concise. No words are wasted in this 'tween mystery. T. Kyle Gentry's illustrations are an added bonus. I'd recommend it for all.
Dotti's Website
Amazon
By: Fourstorymistake,
on 2/7/2008
This was Lloyd Alexander's final book he wrote before he passed away so I felt a little sentimental reading it. He is definitely a beloved author of mine and I hoped that it would be genuine Alexander goodness. It has a lot of his trademarks: a ne'er-do-well hero on a quest, a feisty, quick-tempered love interest, a journey that is more than it seems and ruthless, cutthroat villains (led by one particularly ruthless, cutthroat villain).
By: Betsy Bird,
on 4/13/2007
Woman walks into a bookstore. Goes up to the clerk and tells them that she's an author and would like to sign copies of her book. Bookstore clerk agrees to this and within half an hour both store and author are happy. Little "Autographed by the Author" stickers are slapped on the title, thereby increasing the likelihood that someone might want to buy the volume.
The only problem? That wasn't the author. Just some schmuck off the street, and the clerk never bothered to do a check or anything.
To the best of my knowledge, the above situation has never occurred. Lisa Graff, who recently took her own autonomous signing to a B&N, speculates on the implications of letting any old person sign some books willy-nilly. I find myself intrigued. Let's say I walk into the Union Square Barnes & Nobles and say that I'm Kirsten Miller and I want to sign all their copies of Kiki Strike. What are the odds that they'd call me on that one?
And for that matter, I wonder what the stats are on signed books vs. unsigned books in terms of sales? We all think the autographed do better. What if that's not the case?
(my very favourite is House Held Up by Trees written by Ted Kooser)
What a stunning looking book! Thank you for pointing it out, and Happy New Year!
Thanks Pippa, this is a gem of a book. And the excuse to make chocolate money was very welcome!
I have never thought about making my own chocolate coins – what a great idea!
This looks like a great book to kick off this year’s book recommendations. I love the illustration of the treasure ship