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HIDE AND SEEK by Katie May Green

HIDE AND SEEK

by Katie May Green ; illustrated by Katie May Green

Pub Date: July 16th, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9606-1
Publisher: Candlewick

The slightly spooky dark-haired twins of Green’s Seen and Not Heard (2015) return for a moonlit romp.

“Right at the top / of Shiverhawk Hall / live children in pictures / on the wall. / Peeking out, woken gently / by a midsummer moon, / they spot something strange / about their room: / the twins have vanished / from their picture frame!” And so begins a lively midnight game of hide-and-seek and youthful shenanigans. The frolicking seekers are accompanied by a menagerie of critters. A sly black cat, a little brown dog, a trio of white mice, and a pair of owls participate in the fun. The book invites poring over every detail: statues that appear to move, the mice playing their own game of hide-and-seek, and clothing that becomes gradually dirtier as the night wears on. Young audiences will love playing spot-the-twins (those huge white hair bows are hard to miss), who can be seen peering out from their hiding places in each double-page spread. The impish children, dressed in old-world finery, are reminiscent of Sendak’s child characters, with rounded, slightly overlarge heads atop stout bodies. The digitally colored mixed-media artwork of soft and hazy dark blues and purples sets the atmosphere for late-night fun and games in the deliciously creepy setting. The children are all shown as white.

Just the thing for a rainy day lap-sit storytime.

(Picture book. 3-8)