August 19, 2013
Illustrator Stevenson makes her debut as an author by taking readers through seven ecosystems and asking them to find animals hidden in each scene. “For animals,” she explains, hide-and-seek “isn’t just a game. It’s a matter of life and death.” Although it’s more a matter of pointing to the animals in Stevenson’s naturalistic gouache paintings than finding them (most are out in the open), it’s still no small feat, with the author challenging readers to locate more than 30 animals on most spreads; the final scene, set in a coral reef, boasts 83 animals—including the coral, of course. Stevenson’s paintings are reproduced on intervening pages, with each animal numbered; brief details about them are included, but not always enlightening (“Snow geese are white like snow”). The artwork is the main draw. Ages 6–10.

September 15, 2013
Stevenson, in her authorial debut, presents readers with seven gorgeous habitats and the 293 animals hiding within them, inviting children to count each animal and try to find them all. Amazingly lifelike details rendered in gouache bring the flora and fauna of each habitat to life; colors and sizes, if not proximity, imitate the real world. Beginning in the swamp, Stevenson takes readers to the desert, a rain forest, the savanna, a deciduous forest, an Arctic scene (labeled "Hide-and-Seek in the Snow") and a coral reef. Full-bleed double-page spreads stretch across the gutter, the only text the header and a question: "Can you find 40 animals?" A turn of the page reveals the same scene, condensed, the margins presenting information about the habitat and each animal pictured. Numbers on the scene make it easy to match the animals with their descriptions. However, it's also easy to spot the animals--none are truly using their abilities to camouflage themselves in the scenery, taking much of the fun, as well as the apparent point, from the book. While a brief introduction describes what camouflage is and why it is important, readers will see no evidence of it within the scenes. For a solid explanation of camouflage, stick with Carolyn Otto and Megan Lloyd's What Color is Camouflage? (1996), and for a story that incorporates it, try Narelle Oliver's Twilight Hunt: A Seek-and-Find Book (2007). (Informational picture book. 6-10)

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October 1, 2013

Gr 2-5-Seven ecosystems and their wildlife are cleverly introduced in this gorgeously illustrated book. The biomes include a swamp, a desert, a rain forest, a savanna, a deciduous forest, a tundra, and a coral reef. Creatures include a manatee, a jerboa, a jaguar, a zebra, a stoat, an orca, and a jellyfish. The 293 animals are hidden (some more than others) on one spread, and children are enouraged to locate them. The following spread shows the same picture, but the animals are numbered and a brief paragraph explains their camouflage. Kids will learn, for example, that the camel is sand colored to match its desert locale. The stunning gouache illustrations are magical and enhance this crowd-pleasing introduction to various environments and their wildlife.-Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
Grades K-3 In whichever ecosystem they live, animals' camouflage protects them from predators. Stevenson's engrossing way of hiding animals makes the book as much art as science. Reminiscent of the popular I Spy books, this features seven ecosystems in two double-page spreads each. On the first, children seek some number of animals in the ecosystem illustration, while the second double-page spread has a smaller version of the picture with the animals numbered and surrounded by text boxes containing brief descriptions of each. Curiosity and a competitive spirit will have children pointing and counting animals on the hide-and-seek pages, and their enthusiasm should carry over into the fact-based spreads. There are plenty of animal camouflage books out there, but the gouache paintingsvibrant or muted depending on the ecosystemcombined with the inclusion of so many animals, along with their descriptions, makes this stick out from the pack.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
Here's a Where's Waldo?like package with a purpose: double-page spreads of seven ecosystems contain hidden animals with only the total number of camouflaged animals as a clue. Each spread, from Everglade swamp to English deciduous forest, is followed by a numbered answer key that includes brief facts about animals' camouflage mechanisms. Careful gouache illustrations validate the information in detail and scale. Ind.

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