NOAH'S ARK

A “Hidden Pictures” game enhances this tale of Noah’s Ark.

Even those unfamiliar with Highlights magazine or its find-the-hidden-objects pages will immediately glean the idea from the cover, which uses smooth, shiny embossing to highlight items hidden in plain sight—a ruler amid the planks of the ark, a teacup/elephant ear, a puff of wind in the shape of a ladle. Surrounding each page’s text, which relates the biblical story in easy yet satisfying language, are the pictures of the items readers need to find. Their job is made easier by the facts that the items are rendered in the color they appear in the illustration and that the illustrations feature simpler details and a much larger scale than those found in the magazine’s busy, black-and-white scenes. When the animals board the ark and then disembark, Bateman reverts to a pleasing rhyming verse (the same both times) that lists the animals’ actions: “The giraffes towered. / The elephants swayed. / The monkeys chittered. / The donkeys brayed.” And God’s repeated refrain to Noah is sure to strike a chord with little listeners who similarly feel out of their depths: “Just do your best, and I’ll do the rest.” An answer key in the backmatter not only both lists the items and highlights where they are hiding in the thumbnails, but also provides three tips for searching for that elusive final item.

Children are sure to pore over the pages…and put those three tips to good use.