Deceptively simple, Walter Wick's Can You See What I See? pairs rhyming lists of miniature objects with big, jam-packed photographs of the kinds of odds and ends found in any toy chest: blocks, beads, robots, dice, marbles, plastic animals, and game-board playing pieces. Clever, sharp-eyed kids who are ready for greater challenges than the I Spy picture riddle series (I Spy Year-Round Challenger!, I Spy Funhouse, etc.), fire up those brain synapses!

The Night Before Christmas--The first photograph, "The Night Before Christmas," features a gingerbread house, Christmas cookies, candles, bulbs, and more. "Visions of Sugarplums" is an abstract composition of Christmas confections; and "Such a Clatter!" is a dynamic explosion of objects. In "It Must Be Saint Nick," Santa is shown in shadow; and in "A Bundle of Toys," the presents in Santa's sack are revealed as a magnificent jumble. The final photograph, "Happy Christmas to All" is a beautiful, pastoral landscape, lustrous under new-fallen snow. The original poem is printed on the endpapers.

Cool Collections--This time, the focus is on collections, and the 12 picture puzzles feature intriguing assortments of buttons, plastic dinosaurs, nature's autumn contributions, stuffed animals, wooden blocks, and the contents of a junk drawer. 

Dream Machine--The first two-page spread, "Bedtime," is a grownup-eyed view of a child’s darkened bedroom, with the accompanying text: "Can you see/ what I see?/ Five cards, a bike,/ three soccer balls,/ a spotted owl,/ striped overalls,/ an elephant,/ a dog asleep,/ a dinosaur tail,/ seven white sheep,/ a yo-yo, a boat,/ a can, a jar,/ a lightning bolt/ on a little red car!" In subsequent spreads the camera lens zooms in to focus on the tiny worlds within worlds under the child's chair. Clutter gives way to order as the reader is asked to join Wick in his nighttime dreamscape. The possibilities are endless for sharp-eyed children who choose to go beyond the "search and solve" puzzles. Hours of fun await!

Once Upon A Time--This time tackling fairy tales. Each of the 12 spreads depicts a dramatic moment from a particular tale, accompanied by a rhyming sidebar that tells children what to search for and gives a plot element or two from the story. The rhyme for "Steadfast Tin Soldier" concludes with "a steadfast soldier,/standing so smart,/and a lovely dancer/who's stolen his heart." Each scene is crammed with delightful details that will be a pleasure to examine while hunting for the specified items.