The 2021 Children's Literature Treasure Hunt is over. Check back next year.

LibraryThing hunts are an English-language feature. If you want to join in, here's how it works.

2021 Children's Literature Treasure Hunt

Once upon a time, LibraryThing hosted frequent treasure hunts. But then, the hunts disappeared. LibraryThing members were worried. Where did they go? Would members ever see their fair hunts again? Never fear, the latest Treasure Hunt is here.

We've let loose a nest-full of eggs around the site. You'll solve the clues below to find the eggs and gather them back together.

  • Decipher the clues below and visit the corresponding LibraryThing pages to find an egg. Each clue points to a specific page right here on LibraryThing. Remember, they are not necessarily work pages!
  • If there's an egg on a page, you'll see a banner at the top of the page.
  • You have just over one week to find all the eggs (until 4pm EDT, Monday May 10th).
  • Come brag about your squadron of eggs (and get hints) on Talk.

Win prizes:

  • Any member who finds at least one egg will be awarded an eggs in the nest Badge ().
  • Members who find all 12 eggs will be entered into a drawing for one of five LibraryThing (or TinyCat) coaster sets and stickers. We'll announce winners at the end of the hunt.

P.S. Thanks to conceptDawg for the Duck, Duck, Goose illustration!
He's made all of our treasure hunt graphics in the last couple years. We like them, and hope you do, too!

You missed it

Egg 1

An honor named for a British bloke,
But British artists could never hope
To earn the shiny golden stickers
Given by the ALA pickers.

Egg 2

Eeeny, meeny, miny, mo
Trap a tiger by the toe.
If she smiles,
Let her know,
You must find the clue.

A tiger is a tricky beast,
Full of stories she'd like to keep.
This year's winner tells the story,
Of a girl, her halmoni, and the sky god's glory.

Egg 3

When children are older, but not yet grown
They need a lit to call their own.
Turns out adults like these books, too,
And chat about them we often do.
Come and talk of Thomas and Green,
Of Bardugo, and Reynolds, and books for teens.

Egg 4

When writers want to study the greats,
Or students need a source that rates,
They turn to this scholar of children's lit
Whose books are always a big hit.
He wrote of L'Engle, and Feiffer, and Brown,
And picture book families that pass it down.
In March one of his books was free
For Early Review by you (but not we).

Egg 5

To Bryant Park Station you go on the train.
Wear your galoshes in case there is rain
To the lions you give a friendly hello,
Then into the beautiful building you go.
Inside you will find a treasure quite true:
Eeyore and Kanga and Piglet and Pooh.

Egg 6

One child never cuts his nails.
Another's umbrella turned to a sail.
One just had to play with matches.
Wouldn't you know she was turned to ashes?
Such children fill these "merry stories."
Modern minds find them rather gory.

Egg 7

If she were here, she'd solve this hunt quick,
She'd spot every hint and every trick.
With spirit and spunk, she solves each case,
And puts the criminals in their place.
Her father is sure, her friends are true,
She speeds around town in her car of blue.

Egg 8

Scat, scat, scat,
Who was that?
It could have been me or it could have been you,
The mouse, the dog, the elephant, too.
Some come out round, and some are in loops,
But one thing's for certain: ______________ _____________.

Egg 9

An endless ocean and yellow eyes
Brings a rowdy boy no surprise,
With mischief and might he howls with delight,
Until his heart melts down this disguise,
Back over ocean and off to bed,
This loved little wolf pup will soon be fed.

(Nine trips around the sun—just this Saturday,
The teller of this tale embarked on his final journey.)

Egg 10

Journeys abound the world of this group,
From puberty to dances,
Add ten kinds of awkwardness,
A perfect recipe for tween-aged soup.

No wonder the tales found on this page
Have adventure and mystery,
New worlds for escape.

There are Stanleys, Matildas, and Hermiones of course
Flying, fighting, more than one magical curse
It’s not YA or high school that will give you much aid
The page you are looking for is meant for _________ _________.

Egg 11

Pages and pages and piles of knick-knacks
The scenes tailored are a hoarder’s dream
Matching colors and shapes and all kinds of sizes
Can you see the things to be seen?

A childhood favorite
Finding the hidden keys
You’ll want to navigate to this series.

Egg 12

TThere once were two brothers that we call grim,
But girls walking on glass, well that was him.
He wrote fairy tales,
Had wind in his sales,
And taught ugly ducklings to swim.