Key to the Treasure

As a child I read "Key to the Treasure" by Peggy Parish at least three times, if not more. I became enraptured with the story line from the very beginning as the accidental discovery of a piece of paper rolled up in an old Indian war bonnet turns into the adventure of a lifetime for three young children. What I enjoy most about Peggy Parish's book is that it is fiction based on facts. This lends a great deal of believability to the story while providing young readers with glimpses of a time when life was far more simple and yet much more fun. For this reason alone I purchased a new copy of the book for my nine-year-old daughter. I highly recommend "Key to the Treasure" for children ages seven through twelve who enjoy reading and also enjoy using their imagination. Many hours of pleasure are sure to be derived from this book that I believe to be a classic children's story.

This was my favorite book as a child. I recently read it to my eight year old, who has re-read it a number of times. I also read it to his third grade class and they loved it. Despite being slightly dated, this book has all the things kids love...mystery, adventure, and looking for things. It also has a rather touching ending that had several third graders a little choked up. You will be hard pressed to find a better book for your elementary school readers.

I am in first grade. I got this really good book. What happens is these three children named Liza, Bill, and Jed try to figure a mystery out. This is how there's a mystery to be solved. Their grandpa told them a story one night and he said when his grandfather was a little boy there was a bonnet hanging on the wall and the boy always wished he could try it on. One day he came downstairs and the housekeeper said he could try it on. He was excited. Then one day something happened that made everyone sad. The boy's dad was going to fight in the army. But the dad left a puzzle. The boy had other brothers and sisters so the dad gave them envelopes with clues to a treasure. Their mom by mistake put the envelopes in her apron pocket. When she washed the apron, the envelopes were still in the pocket. So the envelopes got all soggy. You have to read the book to find out the rest. I liked the story because it was a great mystery and it was funny. I will tell my friends to read it beause I think they will like it a lot.

I hate to echo the other reviews but I feel the same way...I loved this book as a child. I read it over and over and kept hoping I'd stumble upon a similar mystery in my house to solve. Now, I'm reading the whole series of Liza, Jed and Bill mysteries to my daughters, ages 4 and 7, and they love them as much as I did. My 7-year-old can read them herself, but it's more fun to share them as a family, a chapter a night. I'd recommend this book (the best in the series in my opinion) as a great gift, even for a reluctant reader. Kids just have to keep turning the pages to see what happens.

This is an exciting story in an easy to read book. But, it is not what I would refer to as an "Easy Reader". The copy of the book that my 8 year old daughter read has 180 pages in it and lots of words on a page. After reading it, she has the confidence to read other books which up to this point had intimidated her. It is a great transition between those "every page with a picture on it" type books and longer more involved stories.... besides that, it is a fun book that keeps you searching for the next clue.