Found You! by Mardi Davies
Ford Street, 2014. ISBN 9781925000672
(Age: Preschool - Yr 2) The backyard is full of great hiding places
and Florence Moon and her dog Trevor are having a wonderful game of
hide-and-seek. Trevor is doing the hiding and Florence Moon is doing
the seeking but Trevor is not very good at finding places to conceal
himself. Florence Moon finds him in seconds. Every time. They talked
about camouflage, disguises and choosing places that were big enough
but still she found him. Every time. She counted forward she counted
backward, she counted every number she knew. But still she found him
easily. This game was running out of fun so Florence Moon stopped
playing. But Trevor didn't get the message. He followed her wherever
she went. Everywhere. And that gave Florence Moon an idea . . .
Who doesn't like a good game of hide-and-seek? Miss 8 and Miss 3
play it endlessly when they are here but Miss 8 is a bit like
Florence Moon and Miss 3 is a bit like Trevor - obvious places,
giggles and little calls of 'I'm here!' give Miss 3 away every time.
So when this was their bedtime story on Saturday night, they loved
it, and not just because it resonated so strongly with their own
games.
Author/illustrator Mardi Davies has spent many years creating
animations at Walt Disney Animation Australia and her skill and
knowledge shine through this book. Both Florence Moon and Trevor are
very appealing with their expressions and body language being an
integral part of the text as well as the pictures, and the
techniques of frame-by-frame, close-ups and subtle hints like the
chicken reading 'Does Your Pet Have Separation Anxiety?' drag the
reader right into Florence Moon's thinking. Miss 3 loved looking for
the chickens -she'd spent the day trying to get friendly with our
new ones which she named Chicken and Licken - and Miss 8 was
fascinated by the representation of Trevor as a shadow. 'That's just
like Stacey - she follows me like a shadow!' Every page has riches
to explore and offers opportunities for talking and learning.
This is a charming book about friendship, loyalty and the joy of
childhood which has wide appeal.
Barbara Braxton