Who’s Hiding?
Agnese Baruzzi and Jenny Broom
Templar Publishing
Things are not exactly as they seem at first glance in this superbly designed animal book. On each left hand side of the spread is a playful, descriptive verse with an invitation to guess which cleverly concealed animal is lurking beneath the concertina fold of the opposite page. Thus, a seemingly ordinary lily pond

opens to confront readers with a large spotty frog sitting yoga style upon a lily pad;

this having been introduced by Jenny Broom’s interrogative rhyme,
 In the pond, one creature swims,
Stretching out its long green limbs.
Who croaks and leaps and hops like mad
       And perches on a lily pad?
Most young listeners/readers will be able to guess each hidden animal in turn, others will enjoy surmising, before all is revealed in Agnese Baruzzi’s brightly coloured scene once the page is extended. “We could say it’s ‘hide-and-speak’ as well as ‘hide-and seek’ “ commented one of the five year olds I shared this book with.
Each scene comprises a whole host of gorgeously coloured images of the flora and fauna of the particular habitat shown and the final unfolded spread shows a broader view with all six of the animals to spot.

I’d say this is one to inspire young children to be curious not just indoors while reading, but outdoors too. Try showing it to slightly older children from say 6 or 7 too; they may well be inspired to have a go at making their own fold out spreads, and perhaps testing them out with younger children.

Remarkable Animals
Tony Meesuwissen
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books
Ten creatures can morph into (so we are told) one thousand in this fascinating and clever book. Each page is divided into three equal sections; these can be independently flipped so that from a single real animal it’s possible to create all manner of weird and wonderful ones. Thus an alligator

might be transformed into say an ‘Allerpit’

– Powerful enough to drag a man into the water, these primitive beasts/have an undesirable habit of crawling into beehives to feed on honey. They can be/ kept in a humid aquarium with wood bark to hide in. Pretty ridiculous but such witticisms are delivered in a deadpan style adding to the enjoyment of the whole. Moreover in addition to the ‘To the reader’ notes at the back of the book, there is also some zoological information for each creature if the pages are correctly aligned.
Tony Meeuwissen’s choice of colour palette is arresting

and the detail in his paintings means that the eye is bound to linger long to take in each and every portion of the animals and the possibilities all the different combinations present.
Sturdily bound, this versatile volume should stand up to the countless readings it will surely receive and I suspect, not just by children.

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