Now You See Them, Now You Don’t: Poems About Creatures That Hide

Harrison (Pirates) looks at the ways animals use camouflage to their advantage in poems divided into five sections (sea life, mammals, insects, birds, etc.). An underlying menace present in many of the poems (“Pupils widen,/ muscles ready,/ crouches lower,/ patient, steady,” reads one about a Bengal tiger) underscores just how useful camouflage can be for predators lying in wait; Harrison’s reliance on conventional rhymes can lend a singsong quality to some of the entries, however (“Sun settles,/ shadows creep,/ a piping voice begins to peep”). Laroche’s (If You Lived Here) layered paper collages create impressive depth, texture, and detail, though the scenes can also feel somewhat static at times. A useful closing section offers additional details about the 19 animals covered, which include ghost crabs, copperheads, polar bears, and hawks. Ages 5–9. (Feb.)