Lifting the painting, Clue #2 was revealed, cut in the shape of a unicorn speech bubble. I love collecting original art from thrift stores, so here’s the unicorn from the clue. She immediately knew what the clue was referencing.

It read: Ready for a treasure hunt? Head to the living room bookshelves. When she lifted it to clear her place, she immediately spotted a mysterious folded note with question marks. I hid Clue #1 under my daughter’s lunch plate. I typed my clues, but you can hand write them as well. It’s very flexible! The only materials I used were paper, scissors, and tape. You can also do this activity with a smaller shelf, books laid out on a table, span it across multiple shelves in the house, or hide individual books around the entire house. In addition to books, I used objects on the shelves. This 9 clue hunt was designed for my 9 year old daughter. The biggest bookshelves are in our living room, so I set my treasure hunt there. A treasure hunt begins with an initial clue, which leads to more clues that proceed in sequential order to a final prize. A scavenger hunt involves finding a specific list of items on the shelves (ex: “A blue book” or “A book with a person’s name in the title”). Best of all, this journey can be adjusted to any age level, requires no special materials, and is very budget friendly!īefore we proceed, it’s important to make the distinction between a bookshelf scavenger hunt and a bookshelf treasure hunt. Have bookshelf, will adventure! Even the smallest shelf can be used to create clues leading to a final treasure.

Black Duck by Janet Taylor Lisle