Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Starred Review Anyone who enjoys thrilling treasure-hunting stories and the lure of hidden riches will love the 23 true tales in this generously illustrated book for kids. The stories center around legendary treasures: ones that treasure hunters have long been searching for, that explorers have found, or thieves have stolen and lost. Many still haven't been found, and may never be, but that doesn't stop people from looking, as evidenced in many of these stories. Some young readers may know about King Tut's tomb or recognize the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Other stories will be less familiar, such as the tale of a bank heist pulled off in Germany in 1929 by two brothers who tunneled into the bank. The loot they nabbed has never been found, but amateur treasure hunters continue to search for it. The value of the treasure from some of the vaults of a more than 2,000-year-old Hindu temple opened in 2011 is estimated at $22 billion. Though some source notes would have been welcome, the lively, engaging, full-bleed illustrations, reminiscent of Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire's artwork, add much to this exciting and high-interest book.

Kirkus Reviews

Twenty-three tales of treasures hidden, long-lost, or still lost—from the Lascaux cave paintings to fabled El Dorado.Though golden troves predominate—led by the treasure chambers beneath the Hindu temple of Padmanabhaswamy, said to contain centuries of precious gifts valued in the multibillion-dollar range—the glittering tally includes cultural prizes too. These include the Rosetta Stone, the Ark of the Covenant, and the sumptuous (and peripatetic) Amber Room that disappeared from Berlin's City Palace at the end of World War II. With occasional bouts of giddiness likely inspired by all the riches on virtual display (the ancient Jews wandered for 40 years because "they did not have a good satnav, unfortunately"), Honigstein genially describes shipwrecks and other historical calamities, legends, quests, archaeological discoveries, and the treasures themselves with reasonable exactitude. The narrative's hand-lettered-style typeface (called "Thirsty Rough") is sometimes printed over dark or multicolored backgrounds, which creates legibility issues, and a few factual or translation errors do creep in (no, Darwin did not claim that humans descended from apes). Also, though Attia's fanciful cartoon images and reconstructions nicely reflect the author's light tone, she illustrates the wrong specimen of Archaeopteryx, and her human figures have a certain sameness to them. There may be some rough edges, but the unusually broad definition of "treasure" may move a few readers off the gold standard. (Nonfiction. 10-13)

School Library Journal (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Gr 4-8In his debut children's book, German soccer journalist Honigstein tackles a different kind of field: anthropology. His study presents 23 "treasures"cultural discoveries and literal richesfrom around the world. Though mostly Eurocentric in its portrayal of history (claims of Columbus "discovering America" the most obvious example), the book highlights a broad swath of curiosities. Readers will learn about golden relics like the Fabergé eggs or the Ark of the Covenant; sunken ships like the Whydah Gally or the Nuestra Señora de Atocha; and other artifacts like the Archaeopteryx and Qin Shi Huang's Terra Cotta Army. Each section ends with a description of where the curiosities are now, as well as a call to action to discover those that have yet to be found. The book is beautifully designed, but the stylized font can be hard to read against Attia's more detailed backgrounds. In general, the mid-centuryinspired illustrationsdone in almost entirely full-color spreadsare bright and attractive and lend a storybook element to the informational text. The text reads like a junior version of Atlas Obscuradelightful, quirky, and sure to ignite the treasure hunter in all. However, this title lacks a bibliography, primary sources, and other textual elements to give a bit more weight to the wonder. VERDICT More coffee table than library shelf, this is best suited for larger collections or the personal libraries of treasure aficionados.Alec Chunn, Eugene Public Library, OR