Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Treasure in Tahiti

Author: Connie Lee Berry

ISBN: 978-0-9772848-1-8

Ms. Berry shares what she discovers in her research for this book – “plants are an important part of Polynesian culture.” The coconut tree seems to be the most useful as all parts are used. Interesting – right from the start!

The book opens with a Tahiti fact sheet. Even as a kid, I would find this most interesting. It is sure to come up in a class somewhere. Just think how smart you will feel when you already know some of the answers ahead of the others in class.

Max and Sam, the main characters of Berry’s books, are off on a vacation again. This time, Dad’s work (his F.B.I. affiliation was safe with Max and Sam) is taking them to Tahiti. Everyone is up at the crack of dawn and soon standing in the security checkpoint line at the airport. Max observes that they all “looked like characters out of a strip. Grown adults taking off their shoes and waddling through a big door-looking frame in stocking bare feet.” 

No more than they land, they hear two men talking -- in French. The family climbs into a waiting car which takes them up a mountain – “one wrong move, the car could fall aimlessly into the deep canyon that lay below.”

The hut was primitive and, on first look, no one was thrilled to be in paradise. This was not what they were used to – no stores, no other houses, and the hut was just big enough to house four cots along the walls. In fact, the hut was missing a whole wall! What they missed in furnishing was made up ten-fold by the breathtaking beauty the missing wall allowed. The lushness of the trees that met with the sea below was “paradise,” after all.

The next morning, fishing would be the first order of business. Dad and the boys made their way to the sea where two canoes awaited. First, it was boring – not even a nibble. Then, just when you least expect it, there’s a shark on the other end of the pole.

As kids will do, Max finds a buried sealed jar under the hut floor. Inside was a map dated 1904. The brothers agree it must be a treasure map. It would be a fitful night, but the next morning, Dad would take them to the island – the one that just happens to be featured on the old map. 

They were looking for “the tree,” when they encounter a faded sign, “ Turn back now if you are wise – Turn back now or reach your demise – I’ve warned you –now I’ll warn you once more – Get off this island – Get off this shore!” But not even a weathered old sign could stop the two boys from thoughts of finding a “real treasure.” Just as they find the tree with the circle, Dad shows up – for a nature walk. Next, it’s a spider web a scorpion, and a cave. The boys suddenly realize that this is the spot on the map.

The next morning, the boys are ready and waiting in the canoe. Dad is taking them to the island again. This time, they have a shovel to help them look for treasure. Not only do they get a math lesson, they find buried jars, and a fresh warning: “I’ve lived on this island all alone – In the forest near this stone – Leave this island before it is too late – But leave the treasure or you’ll meet a terrible date!”

The boys are chased by a man, hide out in a smelly tent, and finally make it back to the canoe where Dad rows them to safety. Max and Sam tell Mom and Dad all about their search for treasure. Mom boils the jars to loosen the old lids, and inside, the family finds strange papers and coins.

Dad takes the treasure to the local authorities the next morning and learns that it was the loot from a bank robbery – the biggest one ever there. The boys are generously rewarded for their discovery and they now own a piece of paradise – the hut!

A quick read for children – all the while, teaching geography, math, and science in a fun way.

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