The Secret Box

by Barbara Lehman

Times change.
Cities may grow large.
Summers may come and go.
And people might grow old,
but the one thing that always
remains the same is the desire for
adventure. Barbara Lehman takes readers on a timeless trip to a world of secret messages left in secret boxes hidden in secret places. 

You’ll never know what you’ll find when you look inside!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Adventure, Fiction, Friendship, Fantasy, Secrets

48 pages, Hardcover

First published March 21, 2011

About the author

Illustrator and author of children's books.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy this author/illustrator's books but this one was definitely an exception. It is a "wordless" picture book that "shows" an adventure that some children go on when they discover a treasure map hidden in the floor of their boarding school. They sneak out of their school, wander through a city, go through a sewer pipe and come out on the beach by a boardwalk. The directions lead them to a random, hidden room where there are a ton of children from several different eras all having a big party. Please check out the book and tell me if I got this wrong...did I miss a detail? My 6 year old spent all morning asking me questions about how the boys snuck out, if they got in trouble, where did all those other kids at the party come from, did their moms and dads miss them...etc. SO STRANGE!

[Jimmy Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret Box is a reader’s journey in a sort of time capsule where artifacts such as coins, maps, pictures, and pier tickets take us back to a time that once was. The first two pages are set before any real industrial production has taken place in and around the academy or schoolhouse. We also see a young man who places certain artifacts in the secret box and places it underneath a floorboard. Changes around the schoolhouse are as rapid as the high-rise buildings that are constructed around the little schoolhouse where to this day boys enjoy their recess hour on the hard courts instead of the green grass that occupied the space for these young men. It seems like it takes decades for a group of boys stumble upon the secret box and each piece is carefully examined and the boys realize that there is connection to certain landmarks from decade’s gone bye. Curiosity as to where the map leads to is uncovered by the three boys and what they find is the beginning of a new adventure for the next child.
The illustration of years gone by at the schoolhouse is captured by Barbara Lehman in a way to remind us readers of images of the many students that have come before us. This connection is not lost with the subject at hand, the secret box, as two worlds come together in the end to capture a journey that has taken decades to uncover. I love how the authors paints these pictures in the book and leaves the story open for the reader to guess who are the next students to uncover the secret box and how far will they go to find out the next clue.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read one of Barbara Lehman's other wordless books, Rainy Day, so I decided to read this one as well. Lehman effective uses illustrations, perspective, and framing to tell her story clearly. This particular books features a box hidden in a tall yellow building. The next few pages show the same building through perhaps 150 years; buildings grow, cars become modern, and industrial city springs up. Several boys find the secret box, which includes a map and enticing illustrations. They follow a stream, changed over time, to the Sandhorse Pier. There, they meet up with other children who have followed the stream to the carnival over the years. The book ends with two more children standing at the entrance of the tunnel. Students will enjoy speculating why the children stay there and character motivations. This is the kind of book that needs careful reading and consideration. I recommend it for students in grades 2 - 4, particularly those who need a different kind of challenge. You could easily do an author study with several of Lehman's picture books.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secret Box by Barbara Lehman is a wordless picture book about a hidden treasure that leads a group of children on an across-town and -time adventure.

The book opens with children at a boarding school, or an orphanage (whatever the building is, it's up to interpretation), finding an old box under the floorboards. Inside are photographs, a map, tickets and a few other odds and ends. Working together, the children piece together the instructions that lead them across town to a beachside amusement park.

Because of the series of steps it takes to figure everything out, and because of the way the children get to interact with children from other decades, the book reminds me most of David Wiesner's Flotsam.

Both of my children liked the book for different reasons. My youngest liked it for all the little details in the artwork. My oldest liked it for its sense of adventure.

[Randie D. Camp, M.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lehman has created yet another nostalgic, adventurous, wordless picture book. In "The Secret Box," a young boy places his favorite items in a secret box and then hides the box in a secret place. Many years pass and the city grows big. A trio of children discover the secret box and the items behave as clues that unlock a fun adventure into the past for the children.

The illustrations appear simple but they are elaborately detailed and tell a story that will inspire children to see how adventures and childhood can withstand the test of time.

Amazing story.

[Mei Chen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The secret box by Barbara Lehman
Review by Mei Chen

This story is narrating about as time goes on, everything changes, but the child's courage for adventure will never change. When three little boys finally found the seahorse pier with clues, there are many children from different places inside already, even the scenery and photos they found in secret box are quite different, but their experience of adventure is the same.

The illustrations are clear and understandable; it gives us a similar perspective on the first three pages to show the time lapsed. In the last few pages, two children are watching the reader from the page to give the readers a feeling of they are actually in the story.

The whole story is original, encourage children to have an adventure and explore all unknown things around them.

[Erika J · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art within the book is simple, and there are borders throughout the story that make it seem as if you’re peering into the world within the book. However, I’d like to point out a couple of things that I had grabbed my attention. First, the front and back cover of the book! I like how it is meant to look as though it is a package, like an actual box. Second, the inside of the front cover! When you open it, it is as though you are opening the box when you open the book because the “lid” of the box is being opened when you open the book and then it shows you the “content” within the “box” as you open the book. Finally, about three to four pages before the book ends, two children are peering out of the book as though they are staring at me, so I am guessing that this is a way to connect the reader into realizing that they are looking into their world. This book is quite neat.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating concept for a picture book. Readers discover a world of secret messages left in secret boxes. In turn, these boxes have been hidden in secret places. Wow, right?

Maybe wow, maybe not. You see, Goodreaders, pictures tell the stories, here, not words.

RATING THIS BOOK

My policy is to rate a book in terms of what might please the intended readers. For this book, that would never be me. I don't learn by seeing pictures, sorry. Hey, that's why I'm a Goodreads AUTHOR.

Yet surely the intended readers are perfectly happy, seeking lovely pictures. With no interference in the form of words. FIVE STARS, then, on their behalf.

It takes all kinds to make a world of Goodreaders.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows the lives that happen in a house throughout time. It starts with soldiers in barracks, then becomes a school. The kids at the school find a box under the floorboards with pictures from kids in the past who lived there and went to a fun pier. They look for landmarks they can find in the pictures that still exist and follow them. They reach the pier to find themselves in the past in the glory days of the pier. Those children go back and leave more pictures that are found by future children.

The illustrations are too small and detailed for a storytime. This book would be great to share one-on-one with a preschool or elementary school child.

[Jayme Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secret Box is a wordless picture book about a few children that go on an adventure. They find a time capsule box under the floor that a man left there a long time ago. In the box they find some pictures, a map and some old tickets. The pictures all look familiar, but the town has changed a lot since they had been taken. The three children decide to follow the map to find the different things that were photographed.

I thought the illustrations were interesting and easy to follow. However, I did not think the story was very interesting and there were points that I could not put a story to it.

[Laura Bradham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute. The desire for adventure in childhood and then the desire to remember the fun never changes. In a house which in the middle of a lot of change throughout the year, a child leaves a box in a secret location with clues as to where he went for adventure. Years later, other children find the box and are able to have the same adventure. And even years after that, another couple of children embark on the same adventure. Cleverly done without words, no meaning is lost. Hats of to Barbara Lehman for such a delightful story.

[Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was weird. It's kinda cute but also unclear as to whether the children are orphans, students, what? And then the whole continually luring the kids to the pier like a weird pied piper story? No thanks. I'm sure there's some message in there that's meaningful and touching but then seeing all the kids from years ago still look like kids...they should have all been ghosts, were they? It was just overall a kinda creepy story.

[Briana Talley · Rating 3 out of 5]

this one sort of creeped me out a bit. wordless picture books are all about interpretatin and analysis, even though they are meant for young readers. I am aware that there is most likely a meaningful message about the passage of time and children's innocence remaining the same or something along those lines, but the way that the original kid was basically luring children of every era to his "hideout" is a bit harrowing to think about.

[Jacqueline Benitez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an adorable picturebook about school children who discover a secret map that takes them on a adventure to a local fair. I rate this book five stars because the illustrations are bright and offer a variety. Some pages are a full bleed with a rectangular border others have a circular border. The narrator in this book would be the three young children who go out and follow the map.

[Stephanie Witt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture book. This wordless picture book takes readers on an adventure to discover the mystery that was passed down from generations. The pictures are great for leading discussions about plot and making predictions.

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

With no words, I liken the narrative shows the passage of time with its changes yet similarities plus that kids in any era naturally seek out adventure, fun and wonder despite the seas across time periods and other changes.

[Jordyn Tinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wordless picture book showed kids going on an adventure with a map that they found in a secret box. I liked the graphics in this book a lot and felt as if it gave off happy and positive vibes. I enjoyed the cover of the book. I would read this book to my future class.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in Lehman's series to be a little more obscure than the others, but it was wonderfully imaginative all the same.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

One group of kids hide a secret box beneath the floor boards of an attic room. Time passes. Later, another group of kids find the box and use the map within to meet up with the original kids.

[Jacqi Coon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because I had to read a picture book in class and this is the one I picked up. The pictures were really nice to look at. The plot was also really easy to follow.

[Jazmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book that shows teamwork with no words. Allows students to figure out what is going on on their own. Let’s them use their imagination.

[Abbey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tell your own story with this wordless picture book. Helps kids with imagination, storytelling and textual cues. Great book.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time travel on different levels. Lehman is again up to her magic, taking us with her characters through unexpected adventures that start with mementos in a hidden box.

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know why but this book creeps me out. It’s strange and seems like time travel or odd twilight zone stuff.

[Phobean · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun! I can imagine kids looking through the pages for HOURS, trying to discover what's different and what's the same.

[Alyson Marrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wordless picture book is illustrated with clear and precise pictures. Each page allows you to understand the time that has passed and what has changed, without any confusion. It still leaves room for interpretation about who the boys are and where they live— but the main story, I feel, is universally understood. This picture-book is relatable in the sense that the world around us is constantly growing and changing, but we can still find hidden beauty’s that were once a main focal point.

[David Haggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Lehman explores the secret, magical world of kids: "gate-crashing." :-)

[Libby Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

We love Lehman’s stuff but this one was a bit more of a stretch for us.

Recommended for 4-8 year olds

[Tani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute wordless picture book

[Rubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute! This story shows the passage of time and how a time capsule treasure map can hold wonders for a child even generations later. Such a fun adventure 😍