The Secret Box: 09/15/11

The Secret Box by Barbara Lehman is a wordless picture book about a hidden treasure that leads a group of children on an across-town and -time adventure.

The book opens with children at a boarding school, or an orphanage (whatever the building is, it's up to interpretation), finding an old box under the floorboards. Inside are photographs, a map, tickets and a few other odds and ends. Working together, the children piece together the instructions that lead them across town to a beachside amusement park.

Because of the series of steps it takes to figure everything out, and because of the way the children get to interact with children from other decades, the book reminds me most of David Wiesner's Flotsam.

Both of my children liked the book for different reasons. My youngest liked it for all the little details in the artwork. My oldest liked it for its sense of adventure.

Five stars.

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Friday, September, 16, 2011 at 11:05:22

Madigan

I love the cover for this one... it has an almost trompe l'oeil quality to it, you know? Like, the book is the secret box itself. Neat.

Comment #2: Monday, September 19, 2011 at 11:17:10

Pussreboots

There is a trompe l'oeil feel to the cover and it's in keeping with the rest of the book.