In Plain Sight: A Game

By Richard Jackson and Jerry Pinkney

Sophie lives with Mama and Daddy and Grandpa, who spends his days by the window. Every day after school, it's Grandpa whom Sophie runs to.

"Here I am, Grandpa!"
"Ah, Sophie, how was your day?"

As Sophie and her grandpa talk, he asks her to find items he's "lost" throughout the day, guiding Sophie on a tour through his daily life and connecting their generations in this sweet, playful picture book from Richard Jackson, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist and Laura Ingalls Wilder Award winner Jerry Pinkney.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Sep 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781626729438

Richard Jackson

Richard Jackson, co-founder of Bradbury Press, Orchard Books, and DK Ink, has been an editor and publisher since 1962. He is the author of Have A Look, Says Book, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, and lives in Towson, Maryland.

Book preview

���2abook_preview_excerpt.html

Reviews for In Plain Sight

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A young girl named Sophie, who "lives with Mama and Daddy and Grandpa," engages in a daily game of hide and seek with her grandfather in this engaging inter-generational family story. Each day she returns home from school and immediately greets her Grandpa, who asks her to search for some lost item in his room. Hidden in plain sight, these items and the search for them provide a ritual that allows the two to spend some fun time together. Then one day, when Grandpa is resting, Sophie decides to hide something herself...A warmhearted exploration of the loving bond between grandparent and grandchild, In Plain Sight is illustrated by the immensely talented and renowned artist Jerry Pinkney, recipient of numerous awards, including the Caldecott Medal for his The Lion and the Mouse. The text here is engaging, but it is Pinkney's artwork that really makes the story, depicting a wealth of material - the fact that Grandpa is in a wheelchair, the importance of his cat companion, who is featured on almost every two-page spread - not explicitly included in the text, as well as expanding upon and accentuating the emotional core of the story. This is really a lovely book, one which opens a window (or a mirror, depending upon the reader's identity) into the daily lives of a contemporary African-American family. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories featuring African-American families, disabled people, or the grandparent-grandchild bond.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a heart-warming story for ages 4-7 about the close relationship between a little girl, Sophie, and her grandfather, who lives with her and her parents in a cozy brownstone apartment. The grandfather is confined to a wheelchair, and so Grandpa “lives by the window.”Every day when Sophie gets home from school, he asks her to find some everyday object he claims to have misplaced. It is usually in plain sight so readers can find it easily along with Sophie. The placement of the objects also reveals something about the Grandpa’s past, so readers can surmise he was a policeman, and he used to play football, and he loves to read and play checkers with Sophie.The full-bleed pencil and watercolor illustrations by award-winner Jerry Pinkney are lovely, with a warmth that reflects the relationship between Sophie and Grandpa. In each picture Grandpa’s cat plays a role as well, which will add to its charm for young readers.Evaluation: This would make a good book for parents and children to have a participatory reading, in which the kids can help find the missing objects and identify all the interesting details in Grandpa’s room.

[tessa.johnson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a young girl who has a special game of "hide and seek" that she plays with her ailing grandfather. Each day when she visits him he tells her he's lost something (a paperclip, his pencil, etc.) and she finds it. The reader can play along by scouring the illustrations and trying to find the missing item, though it might be difficult as a read aloud to a whole class. This is a playful story, but goes nowhere. You could use it as a tie-in to a unit on family or multi-generational studies.