Sixteen Games of Hide and Seek

Description: A father and son play hide and seek, but the game gets a bit too real when a thunderstorm rolls in.

Play is how children make sense of the world, and hide and seek is no exception. Readers of any generation will immediately recognize the negotiations that go on in this family's games: Dad should seek, but shouldn't find his son Ro too fast. Siblings always spill the beans if they see you hide. And no one is as good a finder as Mom.

But sometimes you find a hiding place that is really, really hidden. And if a loud storm kicks up outside, seeming to hiss your name, you might wonder if Dad is ever going to find you. Is he even still looking?

Sixteen Games of Hide and Seek is an effortlessly funny and gloriously relatable family yarn with an ending like a reassuring hug, as Dad affirms that Ro is never forgotten and always safe. Steve Teare's part-comic, part-painterly illustrations amplify all the humor and warmth of Stephen Barr's story. Youngsters still trying to figure out how much independence they're quite ready for, and the grown-ups supporting that journey, will return to this book often.

Review Quotes: Barr and Teare masterfully evoke the tension many children feel between wanting to hide but needing to be found; they convey both Ro's vulnerability and emotional security. Teare's loose and playful portraiture emphasizes the wholesome theatricality of these romps. . . . This compassionate gem has the heft of William Steig couched in gentle humor, with quick potential to become part of the kid lit canon. Look no further--you found a real winner.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

With charming thoughtfulness and a solid grasp of children's emotional reality, Barr and Teare give a ubiquitous game of surprising, delightful depth.
--Booklist (starred review)

Barr . . . and Teare . . . spin the childhood ritual of playing hide-and-seek into a wholly original work that captures the game's underlying anxieties and giddy joys. . . . This thoughtfully built story knows the game's tensions--the thrill of vanishing and the comfort of being sought, the pride of independence and the reassurance of rescue--and gently affirms that needing both is exactly right.
--Publishers Weekly