The Best Treasure

"In the after­word to The Best Trea­sure, Sher­ri Man­del quotes an old Jew­ish proverb: ​“Who finds a faith­ful friend finds a trea­sure.” Her pic­ture book illus­trates this say­ing by way of a sim­ple, touch­ing mes­sage and del­i­cate, col­or­ful art.

Gavi, a kan­ga­roo with a capa­cious pouch, and Mo, a hip­popota­mus, are good friends who are search­ing for trea­sure. Their prob­lem is that they do not agree on the mean­ing of the word trea­sure, and, as anoth­er old proverb teach­es us, one per­son­’s trea­sure is anoth­er per­son­’s trash. Gavi sees val­ue in the many bright, shiny objects that they dis­cov­er along the way; Mo thinks these objects are noth­ing but junk. But after an adven­tur­ous after­noon of hunt­ing for trea­sure, they agree on one very impor­tant thing: that the best and most valu­able trea­sure of all is deep and abid­ing friendship.

This warm, com­fort­ing sto­ry reminds read­ers about the joys of true friend­ship. There is much to appre­ci­ate about each oth­er, even when we have dif­fer­ent out­looks and opinions." —Jewish Book Council

"Two good friends, a hippo named Mo and a kangaroo named Gavi, decide to spend the morning looking for treasure together. But they can’t agree about what a real treasure is. Gavi collects whatever looks shiny or colorful or fun to him while Mo doesn’t agree on the value of these ordinary items and sees them only as junk. They continue to explore the neighborhood together and eventually conclude that each friend is the other’s treasure and being together is the most fun of all!

The colorful and amusing illustrations portray a warm friendship and expressive characters. The simple words and short sentences make the story perfect for young children and beginning readers. While there is nothing overtly Jewish, it is a story about valuing friends and our time with them.

Sherri Mandell is an Israeli-American author, mother, and activist who won the National Jewish Book Award in 2004 for her spiritual memoir The Blessing of a Broken Heart about the tragic kidnapping and murder of her son, Koby. She created the Koby Mandell Foundation in 2002 which provides healing programs for families directly affected by terror in Israel. Her sensitivity and curiosity along with her love of animals and children are evident in this fun search for treasure." —Association of Jewish Libraries