The Treasure Tree

The Treasure Tree #1

by John Trent, Gary Smalley, Judy Love (Illustrator)

Because four best friends (a lion, otter, golden retriever, and beaver) have the same birthday, they receive one gift from Wise Old Owl--a treasure map that will help them find the golden keys to the Treasure Tree. Every friend must employ their own abilities, and they learn to appreciate their own personalities and to respect the attributes of others as well. Full-color illustrations.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Parenting, Kids, Chapter Books, Adventure

112 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

Dr. John Trent is an award winning author of marriage and family books such as The Blessing.[1] He is the creator of the Lion, Otter, Golden Retriever, and Beaver (LOGB) way of looking at personalities. He is the President of StrongFamilies.com and the Center for StrongFamilies both are organizations committed to strengthening marriage and family relationships worldwide.[2] He and his wife Cindy have been married for 30 years and have two daughters Kari and Laura.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book from my childhood, one of the categories in the reading challenge 2015 I've taken on. I read it a bajillion times when I was little, to the point that the book binding is now coming apart. I saw it lying in my parents' book cabinet & decided to find out why exactly this book attracted me as a child.

Basically the main characters--a lion, beaver, otter and golden retriever--go a bunch of quests to find four keys that will unlock the gate to the Treasure Tree, which is special because it grows heart-shaped chocolates. They all have different personalities, and each is the hero in one of the quests. It's like Candyland meets the four temperaments meets Christianity.

The illustrations are pretty cool, and I concluded that as a child, I was most attracted to these, the epic quests, and the imaginative storyline: blueberry bushes topped with blueberry pies, a giant clam that bites the beaver's tail and has to be tickled with a feather to open, a character called Aaron the Artistic Elephant who sneezes so hard all the main characters get blown away to somewhere totally different, Wizard-of-Oz style.
It's a bit quirky.

Now, of course, I see problems in the narrative that didn't faze me as a child. It appears, for example, that the characters ate cake for breakfast, followed by blueberry pie, candy canes, and finally chocolate hearts. Oh, and the otter had cupcakes with pickle icing for lunch.
yeah.
I'm surprised they survived the adventure without blood sugar issues. But okay, it's Candyland, a magical place without diabetes.

Also, more seriously, I don't hold with the four temperaments theory, which dampened my adult enthusiasm for the book. The core moral lesson is okay ("we all need each other"), but the Message for Parents with the personality checklist made me cringe. I doubt the premise that each person is exclusively one of the temperaments, and though personality identification is fun, I'm afraid it leads to stereotyping and oversimplification.

For instance, I couldn't help but notice that the "leader" and "detail-oriented" personalities were male, while the "silly" and "nurturing" personalities were female. Coincidence?

Anyway, I don't like eccentric stories to be marred by pedantic moral/sciencey stuff. Please give me Alice and Wonderland without a checklist or quiz afterward. But, by all means, leave in those cupcakes with pickle icing.

[Veronika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hezká knížka pro děti i dospělé :) A který temperament jste vy...bobr, vydra, lev nebo pes? :)

[Mihai Cetean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the books of my childhood. It's the story of four friends, four different animals (with four different personalities) that embark on a quest to find the Treasure Tree. Along the way they venture through lands filled with candy or blueberry pie , they find themselves in tricky situations where they must use their skills in order to overcome them and learn the power of one universal truth : Friendship.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite childhood books.

[Elise Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read! We read it in one sitting. If you're familiar with the colors quiz and personality types, this is in a similar vein. After reading, our oldest kids easily identified their own personalities!

[Cori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this book growing up. Loved, loved, loved it. My cousin's family owned it, and I would read it whenever I went to their house.

Four animal friends have a treasure map; they set out together on an adventure. Each animal's personality gets them out of a particularly difficult situation until they get to the Treasure Tree (a bona fide chocolate growing tree). Colorful characters, whimsical situations and settings- it all came together to make it mesmerizing (the otter was my favorite).

I'd rate this book a G.

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful read aloud for parents and their young children! The story of four animal friends seeking 4 keys that will give them access to The Treasure Tree is brightly illustrated and is simple enough for 3-7 year olds to enjoy and will provide ample opportunities for discussion as it teaches the valuable lessons of working together and using the unique gifts that everyone has. The reminder that we all have worth and something valuable to contribute can never be voiced enough. This book includes a simple Bible verse applicable to each animal’s gift at the end of each chapter.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dear book from my childhood was gifted to me on my first Mother's Day. It's a sweet story about four friends representing different personality types. I definitely look forward to reading it to my children and investigating their God-given "bents."

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful book explaining to kids and parents about different personalities. I heard of this book through my home church’s children’s pastor whom I highly respect. Our church also bought a few copies for parents to check out. So I had no excuse not to read it. I read it to my 8 year old and I am so glad I did. This book was so good, that while I was reading it aloud to my 8 year old son, my 12 year old daughter and my 10 year old son came in to listen. We read it in about 3 days. The book was well written making it an interesting story along with helping the reader to grasp the concept that each personality is beneficial and makes positive contributions. In the book, this is done by using animals. I thought that was a really fun way to look at personalities. My children and I all had fun figuring out what “animal” we were. We then started to identify friends and family. This is a wonderful way to understand others and why they are the way they are. Of course this is also an important concept for us as parents to identify with each of our children. I highly recommend this book for every parent to read! I think every child will benefit from reading this book and having this discussion with their parent.

[Brandi True · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for parents of kids around 7-12 years old... the illustrations are not my favorite, but it is one of my favorite foundation books because teaches kids about the differences in personalities and explains it in a way that helps them start to understand what make people tic.

Great way to start helping them branch out from assuming everyone is going to think and do things in the same way they think and do things.
Really good “get along” tool for times when they are struggling to get along with someone... a practical book with a good story to expand their understanding of empathy and help them fill up their emotional intelligence tool belts.
Supports the biblical teaching that we are all made special and unique but there are also many similarities because God likes order.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four friends of Gary Smalley's personality inventory must work together in 6 short stories to find the treasure tree. None of them can do it alone- they need their differences to complete each task and find each of the four keys.
This is a cute way to break down the personality test for children, and may give kids a better sense of who they are and why they sometimes clash with people of different personalities. The book really highlights the strengths of each style and how we benefit from working together. Personally I find this personality test limiting, but there are always advantages to examining yourself and your relationship to others. This book gives kids access to that.

[Cole Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little starter chapter book about 4 friends' quest to find the treasure tree - a story of how different personalities, when put to the task of working together, can achieve a better outcome than one on their own.

In the future, I am sure to find myself analyzing and categorizing friends and acquaintances' personalities on the basis of their Treasure Tree animal. For the record, I'm a beaver.

I don't know that I'd go handing these out as birthday presents or anything, but it was an enjoyable read with the kids and one we will most likely return to.

[Teri Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot even begin to tell you how many copies of this book I have given away. It is important for a child to develop at a young age, what their personality type is and that of others. It is equally important for them to understand that we all need each other and are made uniquely different. I read annually in Elementary schools for the annual reading day. I just finished reading this book to a group of 4th graders. The librarian wants to order it for their library. The teacher wanted a copy. I was down to my last book, so I had to order more.

[Audra Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book Caleb picked out and it was the biggest book of them all! However, it's a great story that helps kids learn more about their distinctive personalities and how the world needs them to just be themselves. Once the kids brought me a glass of water, I was able to power through the book.

[Catalina S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una dintre cărțile iubite ale copilăriei mele, am recitit-o acum împreună cu băiețelul. Drăguță și simplă, cu un mesaj cald de prietenie.
Totuși trebuie remarcată traducerea pur și simplu jenantă, cu noțiuni flagrant greșite: Poznașa este o vidră, nu o focă, murele erau afine și Fidel este de fapt de gen feminin, între altele.

[Jennifer Bridges · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lighthearted book that caught my three younger children's attention very easily. It has fairly short chapters and colorful pictures. The children were able to identify with the characters. They eagerly awaited story time every night. A very nice read.

[Didi Zayas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child, and now my children love it! It shows children hidden details about their personality. It also teaches kids to look for the good in others, especially people with different personalities.

[Emily Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I mostly love this book for nostalgic reasons. But my kids adore it as well. They have fun comparing the different characters to their siblings and themselves. The pictures are bright and fun, and it's just overall an adventurous story with a good lesson at the end.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books from my childhood. This story is a great way to help children (and adults) recognize their various character traits and appreciate other's traits.
Are you a lion, an otter, a beaver, or a golden retriever?

[Jolie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids love when we read this book aloud and they can guess which animal they are and which ones the parents are as well.

[Chappyfamily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a cute story but had a hard time getting past the word bestest at the beginning and a couple more times within the story. I would prefer my children to have books with correct grammar.

[Daphne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite chapter was when they found the bunnies.

[Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Natalie Fluckiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for children to see other's personalities. My 6 and 4 yeast old were engaged all 100+ pages. Beautiful illustrations!

[Kellean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations, great messages, and I'm definitely the beaver.

[Selina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read aloud to the littles. Showing how we need the differences in each other to help us on this journey of life.

[Laura Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book when I was a kid.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book on personality traits. Beautiful pictures! I would like to visit blueberry fields and peppermint falls!

[Brittnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this with my kids and starting a conversation how everyone is different with varying strengths, and that's okay!

[Rachel Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduces kids to their temperament in a positive way.