Ariana Treasure: The Missing Book; The Secret Ingredient

By Jacqueline de Rose-Ahern
Illustrated by Karen Erasmus
Reviewed by Meg Rowe

When the bells above Ariana’s mum’s thrift shop, the Treasure Chest, start to jingle, you can be sure something interesting is about to happen! Jacqueline de Rose-Ahern’s The Missing Book, is the first in her Ariana Treasure stories, a six-book junior fiction series for 6 to 8 years olds. With themes surrounding friendship, coping with change and problem solving, The Missing Book has a satisfying story arc and relatable characters that are beautifully illustrated by Karen Erasmus.

Ariana loves making friends and meeting new people, so when a boy her own age moves to town, she is excited. But Alex doesn’t want to be friends and Ariana is left wondering, is he just rude or is something deeper going on? To make matters worse, Ariana’s most precious possession, a special book her grandpa owned has gone missing.

Released in tandem with The Missing Book, second book, The Secret Ingredient, sees Ariana, with a sprinkle of inspiration from the Treasure Chest (and grandpa!) help her friends, Hunter and Jake, discover the secret ingredient they really need when their family enters the local food truck cooking competition.

With a different focus in each book, the Ariana Treasure series is a great choice to create opportunities for children to explore and discuss a range of social/emotional themes and skillsets, and the influence of Ariana’s grandpa throughout the series to support this process is delightful. Even though he is no longer with her, Ariana’s grandpa’s love, kindness, and wisdom weave a central thread throughout the Ariana Treasure stories, helping to guide and inspire de Rose-Ahern’s characters personal growth and creative problem solving, as well as highlighting the power of stories to connect generations.

Look out for the next four titles in the Ariana Treasure series: The Lucky Shoes, The Lost Frog, The Perfect
Day and The Fundraiser, due for release in May, July, September and November 2025, respectively.

Wombat Books 2025

Jacqueline de Rose-Ahern

Karen Erasmus