The Animals Come Out

Within the pages of this sweet picture book, Susan Vande Griek and Josée Bisaillon answer the question they ask on the first page, “Do you ever wonder / what we would see / if you and me / oh, all of us, / just hid away for days and days?” The answer, as we saw during the COVID pandemic, is that the animals, whose territories overlap human cities, come out. Each spread depicts a different animal gamboling through cities and towns while the humans watch through their respective windows.

Bisaillon’s pictures, created with a variety of media then combined through digital collage, are full of colour and whimsy. A diverse group of humans peek through a vast variety of windows to see the usually wary animals at play in the yards, school grounds, and around various neighbourhoods.

Some of the poems that narrate the scenes are very successful. Others, however, were awkward to read aloud. The scenes created by the illustrator did not always match the words of the author. For example, the goats are swinging on the swings instead of “Their tough teeth tackling / rubber swings.”

According to the book jacket, this project was conceived in the early days of the COVID pandemic when schools went online and the population was encouraged to stay home. This premise runs throughout the book. Although I like the concept, I question if the younger children, for whom this book is written, will make the connection with the pandemic and the idea of staying in the house for days and days without going to parks, school, and for walks in the neighborhood. Although this connection is not necessary to enjoy illustrations and poems, it would have been helpful for the youngster who shared the book with me.

The final line reads, “And then we see / how we and they / all share this earth / all share this space.” I’m not sure that is the message I received as there was no conversation about how we can be better about sharing the space if we are not locked in the house.