Treasure Hunt - Allan Ahlberg

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

24 Jun 2008 02:00 PM

"Treasure Hunt" is a simple, gentle story that illustrates the immeasurable worth a child has in the eyes of her parents.

Tillie loves to go on treasure hunts, and her family plays a treasure hunt game every day. When it's time for breakfast, her mother hides her breakfast banana, and Tilly loves to look all over the kitchen for it. She looks, and looks, and then she eats it all up.

After breakfast, her daddy takes her stuffed bunny into the yard, and she hunts all over for it. She looks, and looks, and when she finds it, she gives it a big hug.

Tilly's kitty likes to hide in the yard, and sure enough, Tilly hunts and hunts, looks and looks, until she finds her kitty. And on Tilly's birthday, her grandma hid five chocolate gold coins around the house. It took Tilly a long time, and she really had to look, but she found them all, and ate them all up.

Sometimes her mom and dad hide when they go on walks in the woods, but they never go far, and Tilly can find them with just a little looking. It's not as tricky as finding the gold coins, but her mom and dad wouldn't hide in a place that was too hard - they don't want to be separated from her.

At the end of the day, when it's time for bed, Mom and Dad can't find Tilly. They look upstairs and downstairs and in the kitchen and behind curtains. Finally they are able to find her. "My treasure!" they say, and they hug her and kiss her before putting her to bed.

This children's picture book draws a comparison between things we tend to think of as treasures (toys, money) and the things that really are treasures (loved ones). With the old-fashioned-style illustrations and the gentle wording, this book is a perfect read-aloud to toddlers and helps plant the idea that there's nothing in this world more valuable to a parent than their child.

(This book was published in 2002 by Candlewick Press and was illustrated by Gillian Tyler.)

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Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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