Questing: A Guide to Creating Community Treasure Hunts [Paperback]

Delia Clark (Author), Steven Glazer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2006

Inspired by the British pastime of "letterboxing," questing has become one of the fastest growing recreational-educational activities on this side of the Atlantic. In scores of communities, people from toddlers and teens, parents and grandparents follow maps, clues, and rhyming riddles seeking treasure boxes hidden in natural and cultural locations. In this book, two experts in community education explain how individuals and organizations can create and organize permanent quests to foster place-based education, stewardship, adventure, and fun.

In the process of undertaking quests participants "celebrate and strengthen community life" by forging "lifelong connections to the distinct landscapes and cultural features of their home ground." This book is intended to offer inspiration and practical advice for parents, teachers, community group leaders, and others interested in learning about where they live and building community ties through questing.

Questing draws upon the well-established success of a program in New England in which individuals, students, and organizations create clues and maps highlighting the special places and stories of their community. The book presents a rationale for place-based education and quest program goals and objectives that can easily be implemented in any community.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Solve a riddle, find a box, and a secret world will be yours. This guide to the age-old practices of letterboxing, questing and treasure hunting is a key to unlocking a sense of place in forest and neighborhood alike."--Orion

"This reader is already enthusiastic enough to suggest it to a local neighborhood group."--Boston Globe

"The timeliness for the new book published by University Press of New England is that more guidelines are needed for an ever expanding diverse community audience to run and participate in quests. Those addressed by the authors include teachers, parents, historical societies, environmental organizations and others."--Connecticut Valley Spectator (NH)

"Questing is so full of great suggestions that I am motivated to act. I still haven't found a treasure box, but I've hidden one."--New Hampshire Magazine

From the Publisher

6 x 9 trim. 80 illus. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: UPNE (March 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584655321
• ISBN-13: 978-1584655329
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #787,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Place based education at its finest..., April 2, 2005

By 

Blake Spalding (Boulder, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Questing: A Guide to Creating Community Treasure Hunts (Hardcover)

This book is an amazing resource that teaches us a way to create learning treasure hunts for our communities. It is the first rung on the ladder of teaching our children the principles of sustainability. By developing a joyous and fun-filled method to experience the history and special attributes of the town or "place" in which you live, you are empowered to re-invest that community with an inate and intrinsic value. This book teaches a powerful antidote to the destructive and destabilizing force of the corporatization of small town America, and shows a deceptively simple and beautiful way to teach your children about resisting the urge to be assimilated and become "Anytown USA". I strongly recommend this book for anyone who has a community they love and a role in the shaping of young minds.