Hide and Seek

by Polly Noakes, Polly Noakes (Illustrator)

Overview

A group of friends wanders out into the meadow to play a game of hide-and-seek on a beautiful summer’s afternoon. Children will delight in spotting the hidden creatures on each page as the little girl tries to find them. But it’s not always clear who is hunting whom, or who is actually playing. A charming, richly illustrated book, with a gentle hint of suspense and a satisfying twist at the end.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786281814
Publisher:	Child's Play-International
Publication date:	05/01/2019
Series:	Child's Play Library
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	2 - 6 Years

About the Author

Polly grew up in a busy creative household in Cambridge. Her love of illustration started at Cambridge School of Art some years ago and recently she returned to study on the MA in Children Book Illustration. She lives in the New Forest with her family and rescued Romanian street dog Bertie.

Polly grew up in a busy creative household in Cambridge. Her love of illustration started at Cambridge School of Art some years ago and recently she returned to study on the MA in Children Book Illustration. She lives in the New Forest with her family and rescued Romanian street dog Bertie.

Editorial Reviews

2019-03-03

A child and some animal friends play hide-and-seek in a vast meadow filled with wildflowers, where lurking danger becomes a new friend.

The child rides on the back of a large brown bear; their raccoon and rabbit friends run in front, each on their two hind legs. When the child faces a tree and counts to 10 for hide-and-seek, the three animal friends sneak away; readers see the back of a wolf's head up close, sharing its view of the scene. When the child turns around, calling "Coming…ready or not," the wolf peeks at them from nearby, while the bear, raccoon, and rabbit hide far away. The child approaches the hiding friends: "I can hear you!"; "I can smell you!" The child just misses spying them each time, always unaware of the nearby wolf, whose face becomes increasingly menacing. Finally, in the sunflower patch, the child gives up and declares that it's their turn. When the bear, raccoon, and rabbit begin searching, they instead find the wolf, who looks meek when they ask where their friend is. Contrary to readers' expectations, the group of friends ends up gaining one instead of losing one. Depicting the sole human character with brown skin and free, kinky hair, the illustrations make impressive use of texture and varied perspectives to create depth in the environment. The soft color palette minimizes the potential scariness of the wolf throughout the suspenseful drama.

A visual romp. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews