• click here to return to the homepage •
Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Hiding Phil review
Hiding Phil, the hilarious story about three siblings and their mission to hide a beloved elephant named Phil, will have readers rolling on the floor with laughter! In this story, three siblings come upon an elephant named Phil and decide to bring him home. "Our parents will love Phil!" they cry out excitedly. Until it dawns on them: "Uh, oh..." No they won't! So what do they do?
Try to hide him, of course! They try to stuff him into their doghouse - but he's too big. They throw a sheet over him with a sign that reads, "Club House: Keep Out!" But their parents still inquire, "Um, is that an elephant?" Can the kids convince their parents to keep Phil, or will they have to take him back where he belongs?
Writer and illustrator Eric Barclay brings this story to life with eye-catching illustrations that will make you laugh out loud, and dialogue that is both poignant and clever. The love between these kids and Phil is palpable, and will leave the reader itching for more.
The Da Vinci Code
Night's Dawn : 1 : The Reality Dysfunction
Hell or High Water
The Tide Lords #1 - The Immortal Prince
White Witch, Black Curse
Chronicles of the Tree - 1 - Tymon's Flight
The Looky Book
Pig the Fibber
Klutz Nail Art (2015 edition)
Bunny vs Monkey: Book Two
LEGO Ninjago: Ready, Steady, Stick! Activity Book
Tales of Aotearoa - 1 - How Maui Fished Up The North Island
Flit the Fantail and the Christmas CrashProduct reviews...
Members are welcome to post a review. You will need to log in to post yours.
Review by: tessak (Tess)
Dated: 26th of November, 2013
This is a lovely story about some children and an elephant. The children find the elephant, his name is Phil, and want to keep him. They take him home, but must hide him from their parents, because everyone knows that their parents wont let them keep an elephant should they bring one home ;) lol So attempt to hide Phil the elephant they do, and what happens when their parents do discover Phil?
This story is lovely, it is simply written with the young reader in mind. Easy to follow and easy to understand. Not to crowded with words, but a perfect mix of story and picture. All important features of childrens picture books. The illustrations are gorgeous, Phil of course being my favourite, very appealing to children (of all ages). Phil is such a cute elephant that it is easy to see why the children wanted to take him home lol
I do not often get kids books with dust jackets, as they often get ruined, but I have noticed that most of the kids books I have received with dust jackets are gorgeous heart warming stories that children just adore. I did feel perhaps the RRP was slightly more than I would pay BUT as the book is hard cover and appealing I would still pay that price for it. It is afterall a lovely book :)
Review by: jopukeko (Jo)
Dated: 14th of November, 2013
Hiding Phil is a funny book loved by all the adults and preschoolers I have shared it with. It is a very simple idea: The children find an elephant and want to take it home to keep but they have to hide it from Mum and Dad. The problem is how do you hide an elephant? One of my friend's commented to me (and I agree) the author/'illustrator has been clever and come up with ideas we would never have dreamed of.
According to the dust jacket this is Eric Barclay's fourth book as an illustrator but the first he has written. He has done a brilliant job. I looked up his website to see if I knew his other books (which I don't) but I did find out that he is very good eye candy so I would happily go to any talk or book signing he was having in New Zealand.
He has written Hiding Phil using just speech bubbles which the children love as they know immediately who is speaking. It also means that much of the story is portrayed in the body language of the characters. The text is very simple and I found myself using a lot of expression when I was reading it. The children caught onto the story very quickly and were joining in on the second reading. My 3.5 and 5 year olds have heard it 5 or 6 times now and can read most of the book themselves now. It is so cute to see them using the expression too.
Phil is the cutest elephant with huge eyes and a tiny hat. He loves playing with the kids.The illustrations really appeal to the young kids and thankfully being a hardcover it will last a while with them handling it. I only hope after reading this book my children don't get the idea that they can sneak a pet into the house that I will be fine with keeping it. If you are reading this girls I can tell you it is not going to happen.
Random listing from 'Books'...
Engine H One-Ninety-Nine
worked the Wairarapa line,
pulling carriages up the steep incline
of the Rimutaka Hill.
It's a darned long way to the summit of the Rimutakas, and a steep climb at that. But Engine H 199 used to do its bit to get people and freight through the Rimutaka Ranges. At the end of the story, which is told in Cowley's faultless rhyme and rhythm, is a double-page fact spread about the locomotives and brake vans that were needed to achieve this feat.
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult."
Rita Rudner
