Review by Booklist Review
Ages 5-9. This picture book presents a series of colorful double-page spreads, each showing a photographic collage or montage of assembled objects. One shot includes only round things: coins, bobbins, embroidery hoops, bracelets, marbles, and beads; another shows beach toys strewn on the sand; the last depicts silhouettes of hundreds of small objects seen first on the other pages. In the riddling, rhyming text, Marzollo challenges readers to search out certain objects in the pictures: "Picture riddles fill this book; Turn the pages! Take a look! Use your mind, use your eye; Read the rhymes and play I Spy! . . . I spy a squirt gun, a cowboy hat / Six airplanes, and a baseball bat." While some of the photographs seem aimed at preschoolers, slightly older kids will have more patience and better visual discrimination skills, two qualities necessary for finding the sometimes elusive objects mentioned. Even Waldo fans, though they may miss the zany humor of Handford's illustrations, will probably find this book challenging. ~--Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Following in the footsteps of the Waldo books Where's Waldo and presented in the now-familiar but still arresting Eyewitness Books format, this oversize puzzle book presents a wealth of opportunities for education and entertainment. Dozens of brightly colored objects of all shapes and sizes, some conventional and some not, are scattered helter-skelter across 13 spreads. Balls and skittles spill over racquets; flowers, leaves and stones are set out for a nature picnic; a sandy scene depicts fish, shells and zany sunglasses. A rhyming riddle on each page invites children to dive in and hunt down certain objects, and this is merely the beginning. Variations on the search are limitless, as are the possibilities for learning--colors, numbers, shapes. The challenge is surprisingly great. Excellent, sharp photographic work combined with ingenuity and imagination make this well-conceived book a winner. All ages. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-- One of the more successful efforts in the ever-growing crop of visual game books. The popular favorite, ``I Spy,'' is played out here with a series of rhymed riddles listing objects that children must locate in the accompanying photographs. Each double-page spread features crisp, full-color shots featuring an abundance of familiar items. The objects range from large and easy-to-spot to tiny and partially hidden. Overall, the illustrations are not as detailed or as intricate as those in the ``Waldo'' series (Little), but still provide plenty of challenges. The final pages offer ``extra credit riddles,'' a list of rhymes that must be matched with the appropriate photographs, and the suggestion that children write some of their own. An appealing book for children and adults to share and enjoy together. --Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A book of 'picture riddles' has the reader find objects mentioned in rhymed verse among hundreds of interesting items on each colorful double-page spread. Children will enjoy the challenge - while it lasts. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
