Hide-and-Seek Pig

Tales from Acorn Wood

by Julia Donaldson

With rhyming text, a colourful cast of animal characters and traditional stories, 'Tales from Acorn Wood' is a series of books that feature flaps that the very youngest of readers can lift to participate more fully in the story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Fiction

12 pages, Board book

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Growing up
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).

Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.

I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

Busking and books
Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.

The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.

I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.

One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.

My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.

I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.

Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers.

When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pig and Hen decide to play hide-and-seek. Pig counts to 10 while Hen goes to hide.

Pig looks behind a gate and lifting the flap reveals a blackbird, who accompanies Pig to look for Hen.

Next Pig looks in a tent only to discover Rabbit who joins in the search.

Then Pig looks behind a huge blanket on a washing line and lifting it reveals Squirrel who also joins in the search for Hen.

A huge pail hides Dormouse so she joins Pig in the search.

A large rose bush looks a likely hiding place but behind it is Badger. So Pig decides it is time for their picnic tea and heads for the huge hamper, which is set down on a blanket with plates and glasses all round.

There is still no sign of Hen but can you guess where she is? I imagine so, as Hen and his companions approach the hamper ...

[Tyler :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

gripping read. had me on edge right until the end. a great story about a found family and a runaway hen.

[PuPilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Mackó levelei után már ismerős volt a koncepció. Ez a rész talán egy kicsit jobban tetszik nekem, valahogy több fért a sztoriba. Malac és Tyúk bújócskáznak, és mindenféle kihajtható lapok mögül állatok bukkannak elő, amikor Malac keresi tyúkot. A többi állat is segít keresni, és libasorban menetelnek tovább. Az utolsó oldalon persze megkerül a bújkáló Tyúk is.
A kisfiamnak az almáskosár és a rózsabokor a kedvenc füle. Nekem meg az tetszik, hogy a fül másik oldala is ugyanúgy színes, rajzos, nem csak fehér - ez a másik könyvben is persze így volt, csak itt valahogy érdekesebb fülek vannak, nem csak ajtók. :)
És, ebben a részben Malac becsukja a szemét! Nincs mindenkinek folyamatosan kiguvadva! :D Éljen!

[Bethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fab book

[Natasha Hurley-Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pig hides in a variety of places but always gets found, either by her friends or my toddler.

Language: Fine! 3/5 It's really more about the...
Artwork: Adorable pig-hiding locations. 4/5
Fun: My kid LOVED this. 5/5
Morals: Lock up yo picnic baskets! 3/5
Feminism: Everyone loves hide-and-seek. And while she does indulge in pig-stereotypical behaviour of eating all the picnic before everyone else, and wears a dress and an apron, overall I think she's rocking her own personal style even if it's conformist by some arbitrary societal standards. 4/5

[Eilidh Shrimpton]

Easily the best hide and seek board book I've read so far.

[Zoe Hickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book with lift up flaps and rhyme to engage children. Teaches children about different animals and their distinctive features.

[[ J o ] · Rating 2 out of 5]

My enjoyment of this was hampered by not being able to lift the flaps (may or may not be reading stock room kids books) but they were fairly obvious so it matters not. More for littler little ones, but still great rhymes. Some adult writers can't even write this well.

[J&F Galloway · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book as an Easter present for my 1yr old son (F) as he likes lift-the-flap books. However my older boy, J, is 4yrs old and it's actually turned out to be a good book for him to practise his reading with. The simple words and short sentences are great for him. It basically is the story of Pig playing hide and seek with her friend Hen. Pig picks up other friends along the way during the hunt. J read this to his little brother (who didn't pay much attention but managed to lift the flaps when required). J liked the story and liked guessing who was underneath the flap. We have another book from the Acorn Woods series somewhere from when J was younger so I'll have to dig that out.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lift-the-flap-books are ideal when reading to toddlers and emerging young readers.

Similar to the where’s spot books this is instead pig seeking hen and friends. Has the usual Julia Donaldson rhyming elements and lovely illustrations by Axel Scheffler.

Its simple story is suitable for those young readers who are in the process of moving from basic phonic words but not quite ready for a full book.

[Kim Peach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book with lots of rhymes and some clever flaps to lift.

Elijah's Verdict (5 months old)
He enjoyed this one and responded well to the rhymes with lots of smiles. For a story with pigs, there wasn't enough 'oinks' for his liking as this is his new favourite animal sound, so some had to be added to the story.
The flaps are probably not suitable for his age as he tried to pull them off.

[VM Selvy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this with my friend’s 8 month old baby today and thought “well, it’s still a book isn’t it so I’m gonna upload it onto my Goodreads for this year and write some poncey review”. He found it a real page turner although didn’t seem to like the “up” flaps too much. Spoiler alert- they find the hen.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one to my son tonight and he really seemed to enjoy it. The rhymes were well done, and the illustrations adorable as always. This is a lift the flap book, and while I had to lift the flaps for my son (he's not that coordinated with his movements yet) he managed to turn the pages and enjoyed looking at the pictures.

Definitely one for the young ones.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully interactive book. At 7 months my daughter enjoys lifting the flaps whilst we share this book together. I’m looking forward to still being able to enjoy this book with her as her language develops when she’ll be able to guess the rhyme.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought for my granddaughter, because she loves Postman Bear!

[Jennifer B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Only gives you a little clue as to who can be hiding under each flap, letting you be surprised when you open it.

[Bookworm Blogger · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves this book!

[Sarah Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book, which the smol human loves. I am pretty sure she knows what a dormouse is years before I did. Part of a box set that is currently on high-rotation at our place :)

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this little story Pig and Hen play hide-and-seek. Pig finds all the other animals (badger, dormouse, squirrel) who help look. Toddlers will like the rhyme and lift-the-flaps.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite of the Tales from Acorn Wood. I'm particularly enamoured by the sub-plot between Squirrel and Rabbit.

[Cgltzl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Domuzcuk ve arkadaşları saklambaç oynuyor. Bebeğinize keyifle okuyabileceğiniz kapakcıklı bir kitap

[Natasha Kareeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Из всей серии поставлю на третье место, но хороша!

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's no Rabbit's Nap.

[Kevin Docherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yasss, we found you chicken!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noah loved lifting the variety of flaps in this book and squealed when he found animals behind them, that then continued the journey with Pig.

[Teddy Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed watching this fun game of hide and seek work out, and lifting the flaps was so much fun. I’ve already had a few breakages (sorry mummy) but nothing a little bit of sellotape can’t solve.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

me and my boyfriends little sister loved this one

[Shajie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of little ones favourites since he was 6 months.

[Maritina Mela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review coming soon

[Fi's Journey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this almost as much as Mr Fox's Socks. It has a similar pattern vibe to that book, which I really enjoyed reading with my daughter.