The Treasure
X marks the spot! When Rip Squeak and his friends discover a map tucked away in a book of pirate stories, they set off on another exciting adventure. Along the way, they encounter some colorful new characters and discover that the word “treasure” can have more than one meaning.
A digital edition of this book is available online by clicking here. The first print edition of this book won an IPPY Finalist Award for Children's Picture Books (7 and Over) category in 2003.
Some reviews from the print edition on Amazon:
Top reviews from the United States
4.0 out of 5 stars Rip makes the grade
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2013
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I am a real fan of Rip Squeak and his friends. We discovered Mr. Filgate and Susan many years ago during a visit to a gallery in Chicago. I have been buying their books to this day. There is no one I know that can bring such life to his characters as Filgate does. Any child would be delighted to open this book...my own grandson loved the book and bent over with laughter.
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2015
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kids loved the story
4.0 out of 5 stars Buy this for the Illustrations, not the story.
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2010
The illustrations by Leonard Filgate are what attracted me to this series of books. His animal characters are so incredibly adorable and expressive your children will fall in love with them. The friends comprise of mice, a toad and a cat, who all get along, which teaches diversity and tolerance to young readers.
Sadly, the story written by Susan Yost-Filgate leaves a lot to be desired. It should have been longer. It appears to just cut off at the end. The animals go in search of a treasure and find a pirate ship, which is the treasure, but as soon as they board the ship for an adventure the story ends. Maybe this is because the artist didn't create enough illustrations for the book, I don't know, but the story just doesn't hold up. Instead of being written and then illustrated, it appears that captions to the illustrations were added afterwards. You also should read "Rip Squeak and His Friends" beforehand so you'll know who all the characters are. The "story" begins as if you just put down the last book, which may be the real purpose of the story not ending properly - they wanted a cliff hanger so you would buy the next book.
Nonetheless, I believe Leonard Filgate should be a Caldecott winner for his illustrations but I haven't found any information to support that he has been. The lovely, bright and expressive illustrations are enough of a reason to purchase the book.
A note from Susan, the author: Children's picture books are normally only 32 pages long. I am usually accused of making my stories too long, so this is a first. And the story ended so it could segway into the next book, The Adventure. Lastly, the story came first, not the other way around.