Hide!!!

The creators of Silly Street offer a cheerful but slight search-and-find/counting game, which follows a group of bored kids (initially seen gazing listlessly at a Foxworthylike comedian performing on TV) who decide to play hide-and-seek in their neighborhood. On each spread, readers are asked to find the child who's hiding, as well as a cumulative list of items: one raccoon, two spoons, three mops, etc., topping out at 14 cupcakes. Tepid verse sets up each escapade, but doesn't provide much of a story: "Some people can hide much better than others/ And that was the case with David C. Smothers./ He knew blending in was totally key/ And he did it quite well, I think you'll agree." Björkman's bustling cartoons become progressively more cluttered and outlandish as the number of hidden items grows, and monkeys provide antics on several spreads. By Where's Waldo? or Walter Wick standards, this doesn't present much of a challenge; it's best suited to kids on the younger edge of the targeted audience. Ages 4–7. (Oct.)