Book takes readers on treasure hunt

Parents struggling to share the rewards of reading with their children have found unexpected help in an illustrated fairy tale that hit the shelves of United States book shops shortly before Christmas.

The story does more than nurture the imagination. It could fill the piggy bank too.

Sales of The Treasure's Trove have been soaring, debuting last week at number three on the New York Times children's paperback bestsellers list.

This is remarkable since its novice author, Michael Stadther, could not find a single publisher to take it on and eventually was obliged to print, publish and distribute it himself.

While there is no denying the charm of its pages - Stadther says he spent 300 hours drawing each of the illustrations - something else about the book makes it rather special.

As the title suggests, it invites readers to join a real-life treasure hunt. Altogether, the prizes are worth US$1 million ($1.39 million).

Contained in the pages of the book are a series of clues to the whereabouts of twelve 18-carat gold coins that the author has hidden in different places all over the United States.

Each coin has the image of one of the creatures featured in the book. On the flip side is a telephone number. Ring that number and you will be entitled to a piece of jewellery, each resembling one of those creatures.

And these are no novelty jewels with cut glass or plastic. Stadther went to a jewellery-making studio in Connecticut in 2003 and ordered the 12 unique creations, which together are valued at US$1 million. Most of the pieces are of platinum, encrusted with diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sapphires.

Stadther has been bombarded with emails from his fans. "The kids go right for the puzzle and the treasure," he says. "I thought the treasure was for the parents and the story was for the kids, but the opposite happened.

"I hear from parents that they're so happy that there's a story the family can read together that's not dumbed down."

How hard is the hunt? "It's not rocket science," says Stadther. "It's all in front of you."

So far, the 12 tokens remain undisturbed in their hiding places and the public has until the end of 2007 to find them. After that the hunt will be wound up.

- INDEPENDENT