The Treasure Box

K-Gr 3–This touching story depicts a young girl’s coming to terms with her sadness at the loss of her beloved grandfather as she discovers her memories of him are treasures of the heart. Unfolding in a first-person narrative are the joyful moments the girl shares with her grandfather as they hunt for small gifts of nature; Keane takes care to show readers that the young girl reconciles with her subsequent grief by opening up to her grandmother about her memories, with her collection of found objects now acting as touchstones. The simple sentence structures and easy vocabulary make the story’s purpose accessible to independent elementary readers, whether or not they can relate to family loss. Bell’s detailed illustrations ground and complement the story phrases, as every element described is featured for comfortable visual context. Most notably, the remarkably intricate, handmade textures fill the characters and scenes with a unique tangibility, reflecting how meaningful and impressionable the times shared with loved ones are.