Customer Reviews

Marley's Treasure

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I picked up this book because the monkey on the cover was so appealing. It is definately one of the cutest books I have ever read to my niece... but the actual story has a great message. I loved the idea of reading a story to children that discusses how easy it is to get distracted by wealth and "treasure". In the end, Marley finds out what is important... a great book for kids. They will love the pictures and story, while their parents will get a lot out of the message as well!

"Marley's Treasure" is a wonderful book, to look at and to read. It touches the heart with its message of giving and parents will enjoy reading it as much as their children will delight in hearing it. Marley is a lovable monkey, who becomes not so lovable after he has found a golden treasure, and decides to hide and hoard it. When he realizes that this is making him lonely and sad, he turns to his friends again, and shares his bounty, learning that the greatest and most abundant gift of all comes from giving.

"Marley's Treasure" is beautifully written. The language is simple but flowing and has a large enough vocabulary to interest, educate and expand as the youngster grows. Author Gable Yerrid wrote "Marley's Treasure" for his younger brother Mason, and his dedication to him is very special and must not be missed. It is truly a gift from the heart.

Illustrator Jennifer Fitzgerald comes to this project from a career as an Art Director in advertising, and her skill as an illustrator is excellent. Expressive and full of charm, Marley and his friends are depicted with humor and a sense of wonder (I have a particular liking for Lester the turtle) and her feeling for the leafy jungle is terrific. The final scene of Marley on the beach below a starry night sky is the perfect end for this sweet and tender book, with its example of charity and true friendship.

"Marley's Treasure" is a sturdy, well constructed book with a nice weight to it. Its pages are thick and will last through many years of reading, bringing joy to the entire family.

Featuring cheerful, child-friendly illustrations, Marley's Treasure is a picturebook with a strong moral lesson. When Marley, a young monkey, stumbles across a beautiful treasure of shining golden bananas, he hoards them to himself - yet discovers that he isn't happy. The wisdom of an old pelican helps him understand that the greatest value of a treasure lies in sharing it with friends. "Life was good again and Marley realized that the treasures of life he had found would never be lost, as long as he shared with others." Highly recommended.

Remarkably, author Gable Yerrid was not out of high school when he composed this pleasant little volume entitled: Marley's Treasure to help his younger brother understand the truly important things in life. If only if all older brothers would be so kind to their younger siblings!

Beautifully illustrated by Jennifer Fitzgerald, this lovely keepsake will enthrall children of all ages, not only of the recommended 4 to 8 age range as noted on the item description. Ms Fitzgerald's art depicts the main character monkey with all the vivid colors and emotional range that definitely will appeal and attract children back to this story over and over again.

The plot, as in all good children's stories, can be summarized in a few sentences. However, the message children will receive will resonate for years and years. I can hear parents repeatedly using the motivation and consequent actions of Marley to illustrate the inner turmoil and cautiousness that derives from selfishness and materialistic desire.

Bottom line? "Marley's Treasure" by first time author Gable Yerrid will make a lovely everlasting gift for any child. A companion `Marley' plush toy monkey would add extra whimsy in developing imaginative skills where 'monkey see, monkey do will take on added meaning. Recommended.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

While Marley is enjoying a relaxing evening in his hammock, he spots a golden treasure... bananas. He immediately grabs the bunch and then proceeds to hoard and guard them from his friends. His love for his new treasure soon turns away his pals as he one by one alienates them in order to keep the bananas all to himself.

With the help of a wise old Pelican named, Pete, Marley begins to see the error of his ways. He then realizes his treasures mean nothing if he no longer has good friends to share them with.

This was a cute and quick story with an important lesson about greed, sharing and the gift of giving. I would have rated it a bit higher, but it felt a tad formulaic and while I like my children's books to teach a lesson, I usually like it to be a little more subliminal.

The illustrations were gorgeous and while I read to my son he would be giggling at the pictures or pointing things out to me. I hope this isn't the last we will see of Marley and his friends. I think between the story and the illustrations it is a character kids of all ages could enjoy; I know my son and I did.

Cherise Everhard, April 2009

In this delightful, warmhearted children's book, we meet, Marley. Marley is an adorable monkey who lives on an island. Marley is a very happy monkey, who loves his life and enjoys everything about it, until one day he saw something glow in the distance. Being curious, Marley ran to see what it was and discovered what was a treasure to him. Marley was excited at such a find, but now he had a problem. His world would have to change, after all, he would have to guard his treasure to keep it safe and not let anyone know about it. Unfortunately, in doing this, Marley, himself, began to change and through his actions he almost lost the friends of his life, who were the most important treasures of all.
I want to say hats off to author, Gable Yerrid. Inside the pages of this book is a life-giving lesson that is told in such an enjoyable way that every child will embrace it. The story shows how someone can get so wrapped up in something that to them is a 'treasure' that they forget what is truly important in life.
It also shows that those 'important' things can be lost forever and should not be taken for granted. I liked the way our author showed the change in Marley's attitude. He went from a happy little monkey to one of worry and fear and became quite lonely.
The illustrations are perfect, big and bold, brimming with realism. Marley's little facial expressions are priceless, and definitely bring each emotion to life.
All in all this is a wonderful book, packed with all the essentials of a winner. Great life-story truly showing what the real treasures of life are. I highly recommend it, knowing not only will the child you share it with savor each page, but you yourself will walk away with a smile. Good job!

"Marley's Treasure," by Gable Yerrid, is a delightful children's book. It starts out with Marley the monkey discovering what seems to be a wonderful treasure: golden bananas. Once Marley gets his hands on the bananas, however, he finds himself hiding from his friends, fibbing, and becoming quite a bit paranoid.

Thankfully for Marley, he has good friends like Putter, Lester and Pete who truly care for him and begin to wonder why he won't come out of his home to play with them.

In the end, Marley finds a treasure much greater than gold, and Mr. Yerrid has done a wonderful job of revealing this treasure to youngsters. "Marley's Treasure" is an excellent story for parents to read to their youngsters under the age of eight. Kids in the early stages of learning to read will most likely have difficulty reading this tale on their own, but older kids should be able to make it through with a little assistance.

Jennifer Fitzgerald supplies illustrations that are both beautiful and adorable at the same time.

For parents who wish to instill solid values about friendship and family into their youngsters, I highly recommend "Marley's Treasure." I look forward to more tales from Mr. Yerrid in the future.

Highly recommended.

'Marley's Treasure" is the story about a young monkey who discovers a bunch of golden bananas and becomes so possessive of them, that he locks them away in a trunk and keeps to himself, shunning the company of good friends. As time goes by, Marley begins to feel very lonely, and it is only when a wise old pelican drops by for a visit that Marley realizes the true treasures in life are not material possessions, but friends who care for him. Marley learns that true happiness comes with sharing, and that there is much more satisfaction in giving than in receiving. The story makes for a perfect read-aloud session for preschoolers, and younger readers will also take pleasure in this heartfelt story that is lavishly illustrated in lush colors.

by far the best children's book on the market. it delivers such a positive message that the entire world can relate to. Im thankful that i was introduced to this book.

Well, I must say that this offering by Gable Yerrid, which has been illustrated by Jennifer Fitzgerald, is one of the most professionally written and illustrated children's books I have come across for sometime now. In brief, the story is of a small monkey, Marley, who has life pretty well nailed down on his island home where his house is located in the biggest tree there. Life was good and Marley was enjoying it to the fullest. Suddenly one day, our lucky little monkey discovers "a bunch of the most beautiful golden bananas he'd ever seen - so golden that they glowed like the sun." One would assume that would go far in making a perfect place even more perfect. Hmm, not so!

Greed and selfishness creep into the picture, as are their wont, for both people and little critters. Should Marley share these lovely, glowing and perfect bananas with his friends, or should he keep them all for himself locked in a trunk in his house? Is happiness truly having all the bananas for yourself and your own pleasure, or is sharing one of the paths to bliss and happiness? These are questions and answers that our little money friend must ponder, and ponder he does. Now as to his decision and his findings, and conclusions, I will not throw in a spoiler here. This is one you simply must read yourself!

I truly love the way this work has been written. The author has used a very clear, easy to understand text and style that is easy to read, but at the same time is not overly simplistic; no, there is no talking down here...thank goodness. As you read this work, especially out loud, you get the impression, a strong one that the author is actually telling you the story and not just writing the word to a tale he made up. You could almost use the word "intimate" to describe this writer's style and syntax. The words are easy enough, yet they are at the level which will hold the interest of the reader and or child and mildly challenge the wee ones. Both young and old will enjoy this read. This, in brief, is one smoothly written little book!

As to the illustrations by Jennifer Fitzgerald; well it is difficult to find the correct descriptive words. The pictures absolutely glow! I am not sure what she used, chalk, pencil, pastels, watercolors, or a mixture of all. I simply do not know. What I do know is that her work is extremely effective and perfectly executed. Each picture has a misty glow about it; quite warm, quite detailed. The facial expression on Marley's face and those of his friends are simply cute and each tells its own story. Each illustration goes perfectly with the text and, as it should, enhances the already wonderful words of the author. Fitzgerald is one talented lady!

Along with a great story and a great set of illustrations, we have a wonderful message; a message that a child simply cannot learn soon enough. We learn of the hollow feeling and the unhappiness of selfishness and greed and we learn of the pure joy of sharing with our friends. I fear to report to you that many adults today have not learned this lesson very well, goodness no, and lets hope works such as this will help the next generation avoid the harsh lessons so many "big people" are learning even to this day!

This work has been designated for children ages 4-8 which I feel is just about right. It has been "kid tested" by me. This one was read to a class of five year old kids and to a class of 6 year old kids and they loved it. I was able to get quite a lot of discussion out of this book, i.e. there was a lot of good "talk mileage" in this one. I also feel it would be an excellent read a long book for a one on one session. I found that the size of the book, text and illustrations were absolutely idea for reading to a group.

The book is extremely well constructed, tightly bound with heavy boards and the paper used is very heavy and strong and should last for years. All in all, it is a very classy bit of physical publishing. I do hope that we will see more of both Yerrid and Fitzgerald in the future.

I should think that it would be extremely difficult to find anything to complain about with this one and I do highly recommend it for your child's personal library or the school and/or public library.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks