Review by Booklist Review
Ages 2^-5. Get ready for a game of hide-and-seek in this newly illustrated edition of a charming book originally published nearly 40 years ago. A family relaxes outside on a sunny day. The mother, pregnant, is dozing on the porch. The father and the dog snooze in the hammock. The brother is reading. But where's the youngest, Josie? Everyone searches. Is she in the house? In the closet? Behind the couch? Flower petals from the bouquet Josie carries are clues to her whereabouts, and children will catch glimpses of her as she leads her family on a merry search till she's ready to be found. Buckley's bouncy rhymes are full of spirit, as are Ormerod's line-and-watercolor illustrations. There's still an old-fashioned flavor to the book, perfectly suited to the simple premise. --Shelley Townsend-Hudson
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-This newly illustrated edition of Buckley's charming hide-and-seek story (1962; o.p.) is perfect for preschool storytimes. The rhythmic text is only slightly changed and works well as a read-aloud or one on one. Ormerod's full-color illustrations are sunny and cheerful. They show Josie's father and pregnant mother pretending to search for the little girl everywhere but the right place, while Josie can be seen hiding in each picture. Her dog, cat, and older brother gradually discover her whereabouts by following the trail of leaves and flowers that she drops as she sneaks from place to place. Eventually, everyone ends up together outside in the hammock, sleepily hugging and cuddling. This joyous picture book is greatly enhanced by the new artwork. Even libraries that have the old version should treat themselves to it.-Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) A rhyming text first published in 1962 is given an updated look with Jan Ormerod's pen-and-colored-ink illustrations. Josie, a pig-tailed toddler, engages her father, mother, and older brother in a game of hide-and-seek. They play according to Toddlers' Rules: her hiding place constantly changes and the seekers are perpetually ""warm,"" always in the same room but pretending not to see her even when she is clearly visible. Ormerod's spirited illustrations invite young readers to join the game; they will enjoy finding Josie in every picture, as a piece of her is visible in each double-page spread. Just to make the search a little easier for young children, as Josie moves from backyard to kitchen, living room, front hall, and upstairs bedroom, she leaves a telltale path of flower petals from a small bouquet of posies she is carrying. As she often does, Ormerod artfully walks a fine line between the sweetly idyllic and the realistically ordinary. The house is big and well furnished but shows signs of life throughout; the older brother, dog, and cat all participate in the game, but each one occasionally wanders off in another direction; the parents lavish time and attention on their young daughter, but they both look as exhausted as parents of young children typically are. The illustrations, in fact, show Josie's mother to be about nine months pregnant, signaling great changes in store for little Josie. Children, of course, won't notice-or care about-all of these details. They'll simply see Josie where they assume all children should be: in charge of a great game at the center of the universe. kathleen t. horning (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Buckley's Josie, first spotted in 1962, is as sprightly as ever in Ormerod's illustrations, nimbly eluding her family's search. As Josie's mother, father, and brother go looking for her around the house, they are accompanied by the musical wordplay: ""Did she go inside the house--rosy house, posy house? Did she go inside the house? Is that where Josie is?"" Readers can search along with Josie's family, and will can spy Josie's legs under the table or behind a coat. Ormerod's artwork is winsome, although the literalness of her visual narrative confines the poetry rather than liberates it. Yet the pulse of Buckley's words is bewitching, and readers may even want to take them outside and jump rope to their beat: ""Look! Is that a rosy nose, a dozy nose, a posy nose? And do you see two ribbon bows? Can you count? Are there ten toes? Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
