Where Are You?

April 15, 2017
Two simply drawn worms (or maybe they are snakes), one pink and one green, play peekaboo in various locations: in the grass, on a boat, under the lily pad, in an urban setting, in a plane, through a meadow, and in the park. Children will have fun spotting the cleverly disguised critters as they masquerade variously as a mast on a boat, a lily pad, and a grassy strand of weed in a pond. At one point, the pink one fills the full length of a plane but is visible through every window, making it look as though it has half-drawn pink shades. The pink one peeks out of grasses in the flower-dotted meadow and revolves around the wheel of a bike before the green one finally chases it up a light post. Williamson's simple, hand-lettered text is well-complemented by her flat, colored gouache-and-cut-paper illustrations. They provide enough variety of composition to pose a reasonable challenge to toddlers and offer both adults and children plenty to talk about besides the worms: one large fish is bedecked with painterly stripes; a blackbird has one blue leg and one yellow leg, and it dangles a cherry from its beak; who is driving those trucks--and where are they? The whole is a pleasingly fresh take on concepts of up/down and above/below as well as a sometimes-challenging exercise in observation. (Picture book. 2-4)

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May 15, 2017
Preschool-G Where are you? one green snake asks a pink snake, and young readers will scour the page in an attempt to find the answer before it's revealed. The two wriggly creatures progress through whimsical scenes of a busy park, which has ample opportunities for the pink snake to hide in various spotsaboard an airplane, in a sandbox, on bikes, and so on many of which will make kiddos giggle. With a large font, straightforward text, and bold illustrations against crisp, white backgrounds, this hide-and-seek picture book lends well to group storytime. Williamson's brightly colored illustrations, rendered in watercolor and shredded paper, recall the artwork of Lois Ehlert or Leo Lionni. Everything is clear and easy to see, and comical details, such as an elephant and a zebra at a construction site, will be fun for little ones to spot. Best of all, this serves as an introduction to prepositions: the pink worm's hiding places demonstrate each preposition it uses to describe them. Playful and slyly educational.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2017
A green worm looks for its adventurous friend, a pink worm. The brief text consists solely of their dialogue ("'And now?' 'Down here!'"), while gouache and paper illustrations in bright primary colors follow their progress through a park (see the endpapers). The pink worm is often cleverly incorporated into the pictures, and preschoolers will enjoy the chase and the friends' ultimate reunion.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)