Hide and Seek

by Katie May Green, Katie May Green (Illustrator)

Overview

The mischievous stars of Seen and Not Heard climb out of their paintings for another nighttime adventure in this gently spooky bedtime story.

A midsummer moon shines on Shiverhawk Hall, where portraits of children come alive on the wall. As night falls, the playful painted residents wake up for another Gorey-esque rhyming caper. When the DeVillechild twins are nowhere to be seen, the other children escape their frames in search of two girls in white dresses — and, possibly, a midnight game in the garden. Out in the night air, through the maze, and into the woods they go, looking for their mysterious friends. Will they be able to find the twins before the sun rises? Charming and eerie without ever being too scary, Katie May Green’s second tale is perfect for Halloween story times and bedtime read-alouds after a long day of play.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763696061
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/16/2019
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Katie May Green studied art history at Bristol University and children’s book illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. She lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

09/02/2019

In a sequel to Seen and Not Heard, the exquisitely costumed children who live in the portraits hanging in Shiverhawk Hall, a British manor house, are “woken gently/ by a midsummer moon.” Discovering that the solemn twins who occupy one portrait are missing, the others, along with a small dog, clamber out of their own paintings to mount a search. Together, they climb down the ancient vines that cover the home’s exterior and scamper into the garden (“WE’RE COMING TO FIND YOU!”), accompanied by friendly owls, insects, and mice. The twins, in their white dresses and enormous hair ribbons, are visible in many searching spreads—the boxwood maze, the fountain, and the wood beyond—but Percy, Lily, and the three Plumsey children miss them until giggles give them away. The children’s exquisite period dress suffers from their nighttime play in the garden, but nothing truly frightening occurs, making Green’s twee, gothic-scented tale ideal for readers who prefer their seasonal fare sans frights. Ages 5–8. (July)■

Publishers Weekly

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

This enchanting escapade, reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s work, provides a nice counterpoint to the average bedtime story.
—Booklist

From the Publisher

2019-04-10
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)

Kirkus Reviews