Oak Island - A Tale of Two Treasures. Mary Anne Donovan. Illustrated by Travis Hiltz. Lunenburg, NS: MacIntyre Purcell, 2011. 28 pp., pbk., $12.95. ISBN 978-1-926916-17-0. Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Inderjit Deogun. **½ /4

excerpt:

He made his own treasure map of the island's great scape,

Not mine shafts or drilled wells, but where his mom planted grapes.

He mapped the best swim hole and camping spot,

Not where chests of treasure were hidden or not.

...

X marks the spot where he learned to ride bikes,

Or with stick in hand, he'd embark on great hikes.

Through enchanting forests, past ponds and grass fields,

By foot or by bicycle, never all terrain wheels.

A buried treasure lies in the depths of Oak Island, NS. It's believed to be Captain Kidd's chest of diamonds and gold. While hunters dig deep to unearth this mythical treasure, one boy explores the island instead. What he comes to learn is that treasure can be found both below the ground and above it.

      Mary Anne Donovan's debut children's book, Oak Island - A Tale of Two Treasures, tells a tale of treasure hunters, nature's bounty and a little boy's curiosity. Donovan's use of rhyming couplets, though playful, often leaves the reader jarred by their lack of uniformity from sentence to sentence. The flow of the text is also exasperated by vocabulary that is quite advanced for the intended age range of five to seven-years-old. In addition, there are instances where the reader is unclear of what subject is being referred to.

      Travis Hiltz' innocent illustrations echo the playful nature of the rhyming text. However, one is left to wonder whether more lush depictions would evoke a greater sense of the natural world's breathtaking beauty. While the illustrations may leave something to be desired, Donovan's message is worth its weight in gold.

Recommended.

Toronto's Inderjit Deogun is currently pursuing a career in publishing with a particular interest in children's literature.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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