The Last Treasure - Softcover

Born and raised in western New York where she attended a two-room schoolhouse, Janet S.Anderson later attended Cornell University and went on to teach high school English. She hasalso worked in libraries and for the New York State Department of Education.

Havinglived in Canada, Germany, and Sweden, she has settled in Latham, New York with her husband. She has two grown daughters, Kate and Alix. Janet S. Anderson is also the author of two picturebooks, The Key Into Winter and Sunflower Sal.copyright ?2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.

Grade 5-9-Since his death in 1881, the spirit of John Matthew Smith, once a wealthy patriarch, has been taking an annual walk around the Square of homes he built for his large family. He has whipped up whirlwinds, even downing an oak, in an effort to get his many descendants to patch up quarrels, reunite, and introduce the youngest branches of the family tree to one another. He had hidden three treasures, two of which were found by the family when desperately needed. Now it is time for the youngest relatives to find the third. Sending dreams to two Smith teens who have never met, he ensures their return to Smiths Mills. Facing a counterpane of mystery, mechanically minded Ellsworth and angry Jess must join forces to figure out the family dynamics and the meaning of the treasure clues. Anderson excels in her realization of the detailed setting, which is absolutely necessary for the success of the plot. In Ellsworth, she has created a fully rounded and appealing character who has never been told why his father cut off all ties with his relatives years earlier. With a touch of the family eccentricity of The Monkey Tree (Dutton, 1998) and a bit of the fantasy of Going through the Gate (Puffin, 2000), Anderson has conjured up a fascinating read for puzzle lovers while sandwiching in an important message about intergenerational relationships.
Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
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