At the end of the Rainbow

Text: A H Benjamin

Illustrations: John Bendall-Brunello

Year: 2004

Publisher: Little Tiger Press, London

Age: 3 – 7 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture book

ISBN:  978 1 84506 003 2

This heart-warming story about two friends and their search for the mystical treasure at the end of the rainbow opens up a window into the world around us and all that truly matters in life.

Badger and Fox decide to follow the rainbow for it's treasure. During their journey, they find that their friends have different perspectives on the meaning of treasure. Squirrel places most value on his store of acorns while Mother Duck thinks of her baby as her greatest treasure. They finally meet Old Hare whose memories are most precious to him.

Badger and Fox get to thinking and it dawns on both of them that their friendship is truly a treasure.

Excerpt

“Ahh,” nodded Old Hare. “I have lots of that.”

“Really? Where?” they asked.

Old Hare patted his head. “Here,” he said. “My memories are my treasure. They make me happy.”

Grandpa Bear’s Fantastic Scarf

By Gillian Heal

Year: 1996

Publisher: Beyond Words Publishing, Inc., USA

Age: 6 - 8 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture Book

ISBN:  978 1 88522 341 2

Little Bear is excited to learn about Grandpa Bear’s extraordinary scarf.

Grandpa Bear explains how his scarf grows as he grows. Its beautiful colors reflect his life’s journey and every bit of it is filled with warm and some not-so-warm memories. Little Bear understands and can’t wait to get started on his own.

This book certainly has some nuggets of wisdom and astute insights about life’s journeys though some may be a mite too deep for young ones to comprehend. 

Excerpt

Dreaming about colors and feeling rather hungry with all this thinking, the Little Bear said hopefully, “I like honey.”

“There!” cried Grandpa Bear. “That’s your first color. Think of the color of honey!”