ALA Booklist (Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

A brother and sister are bored and sad since their dog left home and hasn't returned. For something to do, they play a game of hide-and-seek in the forest behind their caravan. As Poppy counts to 10, her little brother searches for the perfect spot to hide. Cy does such a good job and has hidden for so long that he starts to doubt that Poppy will ever find him ybe she's returned home without him. As the woods grow ominous, both children hear unidentifiable sounds. The bare skeletons of trees in autumn create eerie shapes and shadows. The varying perspectives reveal how small the children are compared to their surroundings and add to the sense of foreboding. A mixture of fantasy and realism will have readers poring over the paintings, which differ in size from page to page, as they notice objects that are there but shouldn't be. A list of 18 items readers can look for within the illustrations is found after the happy conclusion of Browne's fiftieth publication.

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

To take their minds off their missing dog, Cy and Poppy play a game of hide-and-seek in the woods. Watercolor illustrations alternate between Cy's hiding in a pile of branches and Poppy's suspenseful search for him, with the eerie, intricate backgrounds suggesting other visual finds. The illustrations strategically make the children look extremely vulnerable--until they both hear a noise that leads to a reunion with their dog.

Kirkus Reviews

Kids lose their dog and find adventure.Siblings Poppy and Cy are bereft about their missing terrier, Goldie, who is depicted in a small, framed, black-and-white picture behind them in the first illustration. They distract themselves by playing hide-and-seek in the woods, where the illustrations begin to embrace the surreal style Browne is known for. Shadows and shapes invite the eye to see hidden forms and make meaning of them. Cy hides in a crude hut made of sticks, and Poppy seeks him, with the point of view shifting to align viewers with one or the other of them. The perspective also zooms in and out to underscore readers' alignment with the children and to enhance their sense of the vast, eerie forest. Eagle-eyed readers will spy the shapes of various animals and objects hiding in the woods as Poppy seeks her brother, who becomes increasingly frightened. Then both siblings are scared when they hear a sound, but a page turn reveals Goldie bounding toward Cy in a wordless, full-bleed spread. Poppy soon finds them both, and happily reunited, the trio returns home to their trailer at the edge of the woods. A list at book's end invites readers to search prior pages to find the hidden animals and objects in the dreamlike images. Both Poppy and Cy have pale skin.Engaging. (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Casting about for a way to cheer themselves up after their dog goes missing, Cy and his older sister, Poppy, decide to play hide-and-seek in the woods around their trailer. It-s autumn; Browne (Willy and the Cloud) paints the tree branches, the long shadows, and the leaves on the forest floor in quiet, careful detail, and Poppy-s bright red sweater and the pompom on Cy-s cap pop against the earth-toned spreads. Cy runs past huge gnarled tree trunks and strangely twisted branches into a shelter made of sticks (-This is a good place, he thought. She-ll never find me here-). A suspenseful atmosphere gathers as Poppy, baffled, looks and looks, and Cy, worried, waits and waits. All is well in the end, and Browne offers readers a chance to do some seeking of their own as a list on the final page reveals that a giraffe, a crocodile, a trumpet, and more lie hidden in the forest. With the list in hand, the bare trees that seemed threatening reveal unexpected and often whimsical objects. Using spare words and subtle artistic details, Browne captures slippery, mysterious emotional shifts, from play to fear and back again, that many children will recognize. Ages 3-7. (Nov.)

School Library Journal (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

K-Gr 2 Saddened by the disappearance of their dog, Goldie, Poppy and her younger brother Cy try to distract themselves with a game of hide-and-seek in the woods. This proves more unsettling than they expect, for as readers will discover, Browne's meticulously rendered paintings begin to hint at creatures hidden in the bark and branches of trees. At first, the animalsa wolf, a dog, an alligatorare so subtly camouflaged that children may just feel their eyes are playing tricks on them. But then there is no questioning that they are lurkinga screaming imp, a peculiar bird, a row of faces in profile. No wonder the kids are creeped out! Cy regrets finding such a good hiding place and Poppy is sorry she is venturing so far into the woods. Just when the encroaching limbs are nearly overwhelming, Goldie reappears, the siblings are reunited, and all is well. A full list of "what else is hiding in the forest" is appended. VERDICT Browne's evocative surrealistic artwork will be appreciated by those who enjoy slightly scary and seek-and-find picture books. Miriam Lang Budin, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY