HIDE-AND-SEEK PEEKABOO

Seven flaps hide seven friends.

Sharply outfitted anthropomorphic animals play a game of hide-and-seek. Riley the narwhal has a red-striped T-shirt. Elijah the elephant wears glasses and a tie. Gabriel the giraffe sports a bow tie with a windowpane plaid shirt. Mia, the purple monkey dancing on a bed in a red-and-white skirt, and Layla, the llama sleeping under a bed, are the only “friends” with stereotypically female names. (Some readers will be dismayed to see yet another anthropomorphic monkey in a children’s book.) The red fox, Mateo, wears a pearl necklace. Paisley the octopus wears a hat and apron. Children familiar with earlier books in the Beginning Baby series (Welcome to Shape School!; Smile Baby!; and 10 Hugs and Kisses, all published in 2021) may remember these characters, but they will not have achieved celebrity status for most youngsters. A visible bit of tail, ear, paw, hoof, or tentacle hints at where to find the half-circle cutouts to lift the large flaps built into these pages. Small fingers may have difficulty with this fine-motor skill. Detailed domestic scenes offer clues about what each animal was doing before hiding. Objects shown are not labeled. In fact, after a three-sentence explanation of the game, the only text is a verbal cue (“Who is under…?”). The friends are together again on the final spread with an invitation: “Let’s play again soon.”

For peekaboo fans ready for a lift-the-flap book.