Review by Booklist Review
The mischievous twins from Shiverhawk Hall, first introduced in Seen and Not Heard (2015), have slipped out of their painting once again for a nighttime game of hide-and-seek. Out the window and down a woody wisteria vine, the black-haired girls sneak onto the house's moonlit grounds. It isn't long before the other portraits come to life, permitting their moon-faced, historically costumed occupants to join the game. The children boisterously charge into the night, searching for the twins. Their hunt takes them into a walled hedge maze and then the nearby woods, and young readers will want to keep their eyes peeled for clues the book's children have missed. In almost every picture, a glimpse of the twins can be found their location often given away by their luminous white hair ribbons, which pop against the dusky blues and plums of the charcoal-and-graphite illustrations. A trio of mice, a black cat, and a white moth are also tucked into most scenes. This enchanting escapade, reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's work, provides a nice counterpoint to the average bedtime story.--Julia Smith Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a sequel to Seen and Not Heard, the exquisitely costumed children who live in the portraits hanging in Shiverhawk Hall, a British manor house, are "woken gently/ by a midsummer moon." Discovering that the solemn twins who occupy one portrait are missing, the others, along with a small dog, clamber out of their own paintings to mount a search. Together, they climb down the ancient vines that cover the home's exterior and scamper into the garden ("WE'RE COMING TO FIND YOU!"), accompanied by friendly owls, insects, and mice. The twins, in their white dresses and enormous hair ribbons, are visible in many searching spreads--the boxwood maze, the fountain, and the wood beyond--but Percy, Lily, and the three Plumsey children miss them until giggles give them away. The children's exquisite period dress suffers from their nighttime play in the garden, but nothing truly frightening occurs, making Green's twee, gothic-scented tale ideal for readers who prefer their seasonal fare sans frights. Ages 5--8. (July)■
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The slightly spooky dark-haired twins of Green's Seen and Not Heard (2015) return for a moonlit romp."Right at the top / of Shiverhawk Hall / live children in pictures / on the wall. / Peeking out, woken gently / by a midsummer moon, / they spot something strange / about their room: / the twins have vanished / from their picture frame!" And so begins a lively midnight game of hide-and-seek and youthful shenanigans. The frolicking seekers are accompanied by a menagerie of critters. A sly black cat, a little brown dog, a trio of white mice, and a pair of owls participate in the fun. The book invites poring over every detail: statues that appear to move, the mice playing their own game of hide-and-seek, and clothing that becomes gradually dirtier as the night wears on. Young audiences will love playing spot-the-twins (those huge white hair bows are hard to miss), who can be seen peering out from their hiding places in each double-page spread. The impish children, dressed in old-world finery, are reminiscent of Sendak's child characters, with rounded, slightly overlarge heads atop stout bodies. The digitally colored mixed-media artwork of soft and hazy dark blues and purples sets the atmosphere for late-night fun and games in the deliciously creepy setting. The children are all shown as white.Just the thing for a rainy day lap-sit storytime. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
