Fans of Copycub will enjoy this new title from Richard Edwards and Susan Winter. Copycub, young bear that he is, loves to play games and one of his favorites is hide-and-seek. One afternoon the cub wanders off looking for a "really good place to hide." When he mother does not show up to find him, he feels scared and alone and takes this path and that, eventually ending up quite lost.

Copycub sat down and shivered.

Night was falling. An owl hooted, and the woods made sudden noises as a leaf fell, or a twig scraped, or a tree groaned in the wind.

Suddenly the cub hears a heavy, rustling sound. He hides, "covering his eyes with his paws." Fortunately, it is Copycub’s mother, who warns him not to run off again. Copycub asks, "“But if I get lost, will you always come and find me?" His mother reassures him she will, "Always, always."

The colored-pencil illustrations, done mostly in browns and golds, capture the playfulness of the young bear and the love between mother and cub. Where Are You Hiding, Copycub is an appealing, comforting tale.

Classroom Use: We took the book into a first-grade classroom. The students were learning story structure. After reading the story aloud, the teacher asked the students to draw three scenes from the story showing beginning, middle, and end. (You may go here to download a graphic organizer for this task.) The students enjoyed both the book and the activity.

Highly Recommended. Suitable for district-wide purchase.

Reviewed by the teachers at Education Oasis.