A group of pirates in search of booty raided the Arderne Gardens in Claremont last week.
As the marauders ranged from four to six in age, there was no need to alert the local authorities.
On Wednesday 16 March, the treasure hunt saw 20 or so learners from Smart Steps Academy in Athlone follow a short trail in the gardens leading to five trees marked with a paper stick-on X and, eventually, hidden treasure.
Hosted by Claremont, Rondebosch and Southfield libraries, the event formed part of South African Library Week (SALW) which ran from Monday 14 to Sunday 20 March.
Nuhaa Portland, assistant librarian at Claremont Library and the properly attired lead pirate on the day of the treasure hunt, says that before progressing from one tree to the other, the children had to answer a question from one of six readers – Humpty Dumpty, Cinderella, King Midas, Jack and the Bean Stalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Tin Soldier. Portland explains that library staff had delivered these readers to the pre-school two weeks before the event. The teachers then worked through each book with learners, reading the stories to them and asking them questions to see if they understood.
“Along the trail, there were Xs placed on five trees. These were our riddle stations. When the kids approached, a librarian jumped out and asked them a riddle from the readers which they had to solve to move on,” she says.
As with all good pirate stories, a hidden treasure chest waited at the end of the trail. This one was filled with chocolate silver coins which were fairly shared among the buccaneers. Each also received a little pirate’s bookmarker. Rounding off the fun was storytelling and rhyme signing while the pirates feasted on their packed lunch.
