Where's the Baboon?

by Michael Escoffier, Kris Di Giacomo (Illustrator)

Overview

A companion volume to the acclaimed Take Away the A, this is picture book word play at its very best!

Step right up, fearless readers! Today, in this very book, we will PROVE to you that a snake can hide in a snowflake, that pigs can paint, and that the ones who copy the most are not necessarily cats! Prepare to be AMAZED by the game of hide-n-seek the words play! These tricksters are true experts in the art of camouflage!

"...a fun way to engage with language and reading in a nontraditional way." —Jen Wecker, Kiss the Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592701896
Publisher:	Enchanted Lion
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Series:	Wordplay Trilogy Series
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 12.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Michael Escoffier was born in France in 1970. Raised by a family of triceratops, he discovered his passion for writing and telling stories at a young age. He lives in Lyon with his wife and two children.

Kris Di Giacomo is an American who has lived in France since childhood. She has illustrated over 25 books for French publishers, which have been translated into many languages. This is her seventh book to be published by Enchanted Lion. The others are My Dad Is Big & Strong, BUT..., Brief Thief, Me First!, The Day I Lost My Super Powers, Take Away the A, enormous SMALLNESS, A life of E. E. Cummings.

Editorial Reviews

09/28/2015
Escoffier and Di Giacomo keep up the wordplay in this fun companion to 2014’s Take Away the A, which invites readers to find the names of animals hidden within various words. The text consists of a series of questions (“Who is hiding behind the castle?”), with red letters highlighting the answers (in this case, the C, A, and T in “castle”). Di Giacomo’s rough-hewn illustrations place the action in a rowdy school, with plenty of funny encounters to keep kids giggling: a brown cow looks sidelong at three mischief-making mice who seem to be making a glue catapult, while the baboon of the title shows up—with a big “boo”—in the final pages. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

A 2016 Notable Children's Book in the English Language Arts

"Kids will enjoy searching for answers in both words and pictures, not to mention the surprise at the story’s end. The muted colors of Di Giacomo’s illustrations complement each scene’s subtle humor (a seagull reading Jonathan Livingston, for instance), and all works together beautifully to unify language, picture, and story." — STARRED REVIEW, Booklist

“As the cover art teases, this is both a game and a riddle book, with clever illustrations providing clues . . . In a word: outstanding.” – STARRED REVIEW, Kirkus Reviews

“Call it what you like, but Esoffier and Di Giacomo appear to have another hit on their hands . . . Wordplay and fun—what’s not to like?” – Book Page

“Escoffier and Di Giacomo keep up the wordplay in this fun companion to 2014’s Take Away the A, which invites readers to find the names of animals hidden within various words . . .Di Giacomo’s rough-hewn illustrations place the action in a rowdy school, with plenty of funny encounters to keep kids giggling.” – Publishers Weekly

"...the creative duo of Michaël Escoffier and Kris Di Giacomo returns with a magnificent seek-and-find caper that plays as much with words as with pictures."––The Wall Street Journal

"Animals filled with personality cavort and play across the well-composed pages. A muted palette enhances the humor and invites readers to closely examine the affable pictures. . . . This fresh and festive book encourages not only wordplay but careful examination of illustration sure to please readers of any age."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
K-Gr 3—As three white mice follow a sign to school, they invite readers to "search for hidden words!" A series of questions are asked, and the answers are hidden in the final work with visual clues; putting the letters that appear in a different color and font size together provides the solution. For example, a pig holding a paintbrush in front of a splattered canvas is the artist who "made this painting." The word painting is presented in black, but the letters P, I, and G are slightly larger and in red. Animals filled with personality cavort and play across the well-composed pages. A muted palette enhances the humor and invites readers to closely examine the affable pictures, which also hold the answers hidden in the words. The only one missing appears in the final chaotic, joyful spread: "baBOOn!" VERDICT This fresh and festive book encourages not only wordplay but careful examination of illustration sure to please readers of any age.—Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

School Library Journal

★ 2015-08-26
"It's a book! It's a game! It's Super Bookgame!" As the cover art teases, this is both a game and a riddle book, with clever illustrations providing clues. This companion to Take Away the A (2014), created by the same team, immediately engages readers in the wordplay. The two pages following the title set the scene, as three white mice carting a pencil say, "Let's go search for hidden words." First up is the question, "Who is the headmaster?" The answer is the hamster, who is standing on a stack of books ringing a school bell. "Who is hiding behind the castle?" A cat's ears poke up behind the toy structure. "Who is the clown?" A brown cow juggles the three mice. The answers are found in the color of the type: the dropped letters are set in black, and the remaining, red letters form the new word. All of the characters are creatures of one sort or another, and the three impish mice appear in each scene. One peeks out of a crayon box while the other two tie a string on the cat's tail; they play at folding paper on the page where a snake makes snowflakes. All together, the textured, humorous illustrations tell a story about a boisterous day in an elementary school, culminating in a slate-blue bird's birthday—that's crashed by a baboon: "BOO!" The interplay on the pages is whimsical, charming, and overflowing with fun. In a word: outstanding. (Picture book. 5-12)

Kirkus Reviews