Hiding

Jean Free, formerly an elementary-school teacher-librarian, is currently
a library consultant in Ontario.

Benny hides from his parents in a variety of places in the house. After
looking for him all around the living room, they find him, at last, in
bed with his stuffed toys.

Hiding is a short poem originally published in 1925 in the collection
All Together by American author Dorothy Aldis. It is surprising that a
Canada Council grant was given for an American poem so dated that it
refers to inkwells. Heather Collins’s illustrations, however, make
this interpretation of the poem fun for 2- to 3-year-olds as they
discover little Benny hiding in the paintings on the wall, in his
mother’s glove on the hall table, on the desk, and even in the
aquarium with the goldfish. Her colorful paintings abound with
intricate, humorous detail as young readers are encouraged to help
Benny’s parents find their lost child. Recommended with reservations.