Hide and Seek

Shadows and shapes invite the eye to see hidden forms and make meaning of them...The perspective also zooms in and out to underscore readers' alignment with the children and to enhance their sense of the vast, eerie forest...Engaging.

A mixture of fantasy and realism will have readers poring over the paintings, which differ in size from page to page, as they notice objects that are there but shouldn't be. A list of 18 items readers can look for within the illustrations is found after the happy conclusion of Browne's fiftieth publication.

To take their minds off Goldie, their missing dog, Cy and Poppy opt for a game of hide-and-seek in the woods...The mood of the visuals immediately lightens as they head back to their small mobile home at the edge of the woods--warm and cheery, with a wide-open door. An appended list alerts readers to some of those unusual objects hidden in the forest (lest anyone thinks his or her imagination was overreacting during the first read) and encourages seeking out more.

Casting about for a way to cheer themselves up after their dog goes missing, Cy and his older sister, Poppy, decide to play hide-and-seek in the woods around their trailer. It's autumn; Browne (Willy and the Cloud) paints the tree branches, the long shadows, and the leaves on the forest floor in quiet, careful detail, and Poppy's bright red sweater and the pompom on Cy's cap pop against the earth-toned spreads. Cy runs past huge gnarled tree trunks and strangely twisted branches into a shelter made of sticks ("This is a good place, he thought. She'll never find me here"). A suspenseful atmosphere gathers as Poppy, baffled, looks and looks, and Cy, worried, waits and waits. All is well in the end, and Browne offers readers a chance to do some seeking of their own as a list on the final page reveals that a giraffe, a crocodile, a trumpet, and more lie hidden in the forest. With the list in hand, the bare trees that seemed threatening reveal unexpected and often whimsical objects. Using spare words and subtle artistic details, Browne captures slippery, mysterious emotional shifts, from play to fear and back again, that many children will recognize. Ages 3-7. (Nov.)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

K-Gr 2--Saddened by the disappearance of their dog, Goldie, Poppy and her younger brother Cy try to distract themselves with a game of hide-and-seek in the woods. This proves more unsettling than they expect, for as readers will discover, Browne's meticulously rendered paintings begin to hint at creatures hidden in the bark and branches of trees. At first, the animals--a wolf, a dog, an alligator--are so subtly camouflaged that children may just feel their eyes are playing tricks on them. But then there is no questioning that they are lurking--a screaming imp, a peculiar bird, a row of faces in profile. No wonder the kids are creeped out! Cy regrets finding such a good hiding place and Poppy is sorry she is venturing so far into the woods. Just when the encroaching limbs are nearly overwhelming, Goldie reappears, the siblings are reunited, and all is well. A full list of "what else is hiding in the forest" is appended. VERDICT Browne's evocative surrealistic artwork will be appreciated by those who enjoy slightly scary and seek-and-find picture books.--Miriam Lang Budin, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.