Henry and the Hidden Treasure by B.C.R. Fegan

Title: Henry and the Hidden Treasure

Author: B.C.R. Fegan

Illustrator: Lenny Wen

"Henry has a lot of treasure and he keeps it very well hidden."

So well hidden, in fact, that there's no way in heck anyone is getting to that treasure. 'Cause Henry's got a slew of incredibly strong, incredibly scary creatures guarding it, including but not limited to a fire-breathing dragon, gigantic robot, several superheros, and a giant and ferocious pink pig. (I don't know about you, but that pig looks more ferocious than the superheros, dragon, and robot combined). 

Not content to leave it to these guys, Henry has also hidden his treasure in the darkest part of a secret cave and surrounded it with booby traps. If some brave soul succeeds in making it past all of Henry's defenses, they'll still have to get past Henry himself: a swashbuckling kid with a powerful laser gun that's almost as big as his imagination (but not quite).

But, against all odds, it looks like Henry's little sister Lucy (secretly a ninja) may have found a way to break through all of Henry's defenses and reach his secret treasure!

On second thought, it looks like Lucy's not interested in Henry's treasure at all. In fact, she may have something much more drastic in mind....

Henry and the Hidden Treasure is a charming story told with creativity and heart. I loved Henry's wild imagination and all his painstaking precautions in guarding his treasure. The various layers of security (monstrous guards, a huge maze, booby traps, etc.) are sure to appeal to kids with big imaginations. 

Likewise, the sweetness (literally and figuratively) of the story's ending will hit home for brothers and sisters (or maybe mostly just for parents who wish their kids got along a little better). 

To top it all off, Lenny Wen's delightful, fun illustrations complement the story beautifully: seamlessly mingling the world of Henry's imagination with the "real" world and things as they actually are (a.k.a., the secret cave is his bedroom). 

All in all, this is a delightful little story sure to make you grin, awake your imagination, and finally make you go "awwww" because it's just so darn cute.

Until tomorrow.