The Key to the Treasure by Peggy Parish was one of those childhood books that I greatly enjoyed, and beyond belief, my parents still had floating around. Published in 1966, with a bright yelow cover, the story is that of three nice white children who have a nice white adventure at their grandparent's house. In the past, their white ancestor went off to fight in the civil war, but he left behind clues for his children to follow. Alas, the children never got the proper clues. With a little luck and a little pluck, it falls to these three kids to discover and decode those clues.

To be honest, as I read this book, which sometimes flowed easily and other times sounded stilted, I found that excitement in my belly and knew why I came to this book again and again. The books picks up an energy by the middle. I once again wanted to reach the end and see how everything turned out. To my surprise, I still remembered a few plot points all these years later when the rest of the story had turned to mush.

Of note, Peggy Parish is also the author of the Amelia Bedia series.