Hidden wonders!

Rich in wonder, hidden and otherwise. The best place to hide something, the saying goes, is in plain sight, and the devil, they say, is in the details. Photographer Wick exploits both principles in this gorgeous and captivating challenge to the observational abilities of young and old alike. Wick collaborated on the popular I Spy series with the late Jean Marzollo and continues the tradition in his own Can You See What I See? books. Here, 12 different set pieces of great detail and complexity offer readers hours of enchantment, searching for a menu of objects hidden within each tableau and discovering a great deal more in the process. These dioramas are so richly detailed that the longer one looks, the more one finds to amaze and amuse. Each scene spans roughly five-sixths of a spread, with the remaining strip bearing its title and a rhyming list of items to find within the picture. Mirrors and impossible-object illusions add to the visual complexity. For example, "Costume Ball" takes place in a hall of mirrors while "Space Station Impossible" is designed as a Penrose triangle made up of three right angles. "Wacky Workshop" features perpetually climbing Escher stairs and "a house that's / impossible / in 3 different places," and "Flatland" blends 3-D optical illusions with strategically placed objects that make it hard to know what's flat and what's not. Brain-bending exercise for eyes and minds of all ages. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.