Tuesday, May 29, 2001

Hide and Seek with your Favorite Furry Blue Monster!

Quite a while ago, I reviewed one of my favorite childhood books, a Sesame Street gem called The Monster at the End of this Book. In it, Grover tries desperately, and without success, to convince the reader not to read to the end of the book, the reason being that Grover saw the title and is scared out of his wits. It does not occur to him, of course, that he is a monster...

While helping out with my little brother's book swap, I discovered Grover's Hide and Seek. I could tell just from the title page that this was going to be a book very much like the Grover book I had grown to know and love, so I swiped it. I was not disappointed.

Within its pages, Grover once more directly addresses his audience. This time, however, Grover's concern is hiding himself so well that the reader will be unable to find him. He is thrilled when the reader agrees to play hide and seek with him but less than thrilled to discover that he must find a place to hide on a double sheet of white paper. What is a blue monster to do?

If you've read Monster, then you'll know that Grover is an overflowing fount of creativity and ingenuity. He's got all sorts of tricks up his sleeve, from crumpling the pages to pouring down blue paint to filling the pages with thought bubbles and hiding behind them. But, doggone it, there just doesn't seem to be any way to hide that adorable fuzzy blue face! Will Grover ever succeed in his quest to win a round of hide and seek? That, dear reader, is all up to you!

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