The Hidden Treasure.

Lisa Arsenault is a high-school English teacher who is involved in
several ministry campaigns to increase literacy.

This delightful picture book for children combines an ancient Chinese tale with modern Canadian sensibilities. It is narrated by an 85-year-old Chinese-Canadian grandfather of two children who loves to hear his stories from the old country.

At the heart of the story is a morality tale. When an old farmer becomes feeble and ill and can no longer work, his sons don’t want to care for him. The three sons and their wives refuse to take him in—until they hear a rumour that he has buried a treasure—and then they fight over who will get him. When he realizes that greed is the motivator for his family’s sudden interest, the old man, with his dying breath, tells them that the treasure is buried at the side of the house. The six greedy ingrates dig so deeply that the wall above them begins to fall.

When the children want to know what happens next the grandfather gives them two versions: the traditional Chinese ending is the wall crashes down, the Canadian version is the children are given a second chance to redeem themselves. The grandfather has his own personal version of the story which involves planting a peach tree that symbolizes family love—the real treasure.

The black-and-white illustrations with subtle shading and monochromatic colour scheme highlights the depth of detail in each vignette. The story has the familiar pace of traditional tales world-wide and many of the familiar conceits, such as sets of three. Although a morality tale, it is full of humour, benevolence—and it doesn’t preach. Highly recommended.