Benjamin's Treasure Book

One beautiful morning, Benjamin Pink packs a basket full of lettuce and radish sandwiches, waves good-bye to his wife, Emily, and sets off for a day of fishing. Unfortunately, not only are the fish not biting, but this happy rabbit is about to encounter a major storm. Washed ashore on a desert island, Ben starts making a shelter while awaiting rescue. To his great surprise, he discovers buried treasure, and now, in addition to getting himself home, he needs to find a way to transport the treasure chest. With high hopes of becoming the hero of his hometown ("presents for everyone on Clover Hill... free lettuce for the needy"), Ben disregards the advice of a turtle he meets to ditch the treasure ("You will worry about it day and night. Your friends will become jealous and you will suspect everyone"). But can he have his bejeweled cake and eat it too? Adapted from Garth Williams's 1951 novel, The Adventures of Benjamin Pink, this delightful picture book was a labor of love for illustrator Rosemary Wells (of Max board books fame), who also added color to the original black-and-white illustrations. She carefully colored each drawing using the exact paints available to Williams in the '50s, in a palette chosen from his color work in other books. A splendid way to revive a classic! (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie CoulterRead More