HIDE AND SEEK

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)