I SPY SERIES

I Spy Treasure Hunt--Readers search for subtly hidden objects on every beautifully composed and photographed page. At first glance the setting seems like any other quaint seaside town. Take a second look and discover that it's in fact a very realistic model, with giant pencil erasers filling truck beds and gargantuan pennies nestled among the boulders of an island. The result is stunning, a surrealistic adventure.

I Spy Picture Riddles--I spy... a little baby's footprint, a heart-shaped box, a silver jack, a train track, a comb, a button, a pine cone... and hundreds upon hundreds of other small, interesting objects. Here is the original I Spy picture book, the one that launched the very popular series by rhyme-ster Jean Marzollo and photographer Walter Wick. Each sizeable two-page spread features an assortment of crisply photographed items, along with a rhyming litany that serves as a riddle for readers to solve:

I spy a snake, a three-letter word,
And flying underneath, a great white bird;
Nine gold stars, a blue tube of glitter,
One clay cat, and a six-legged critter.

I Spy Spooky Night--This time, the puzzles take place in and around a haunted house (an altered Victorian dollhouse). Readers are invited to search for mice, spiders, candles, bats, jack-o-lanterns, and bones among other creepy things found in the hallway, library, fireplace, and laboratory of the house, as well as in the graveyard and a garden of ghoulies outside. (How the miniature cobwebs were simulated remains a mystery.) Using a spooky sky for a backdrop, various props, and some very creative lighting, Wick achieves a definite dramatic effect. Marzollo's clever rhyming puzzles add great flair, and, as in the earlier titles, readers are encouraged to solve more riddles at the end and to make up selections of their own. This book is fun for a wide range of ages, as the picture riddles vary in difficulty and sophistication.

I Spy School Days--Most sets are basic, from a classroom blackboard to a playground floor to a homemade puppet theater. But each apparently simple spread wordlessly and playfully reinforces learning skills. In a spread featuring plastic numerals from one to 12, for example, each number is surrounded by related objects; a building block emblazoned with "X" and a toy clown wagging the splayed fingers on his hands are among the items illustrating the number 10. The puppet theater is hung with cardboard cutouts of figures and props from classic fairy tales. Other sets teach such concepts as sets and patterns, cleverly integrating items seen on previous spreads. By stressing the value of everyday objects, this ingenious volume will encourage readers to look closely at not just the pictures, but at their own surroundings.

I Spy Christmas--A photographic puzzle book features rhyming riddles that invite young readers to locate hidden objects--clocks, nickels, pickles, frogs, and others--among double-page spreads filled with holiday delights.

I Spy Mystery--This one features a simple rhyming text and crystal-clear color photographs of common objects. Readers will have to be eagle-eyed (not to mention diligent) to locate the bright toys, games, party favors, sports equipment, and other childhood items that hide in blue shadows, on a shell-filled beach, behind keyholes, and in a whimsical nursery painting. Filled with props, the diverse and imaginative "sets" (their construction is explained in a note) should inspire kids to invent their own mysteries and rhymes.

I Spy Fun House--Once again, each spread consists of a spectacular color photograph of an even more spectacularly propped 4 8 set, paired with four lines of verse that challenge the reader ("I spy a fish, five clothespins, a rose; / The reflection of an elephant's nose . . ."). Wick's dramatic lighting, his diverse use of shadows and his varied backgrounds set new standards for children's photography books, while Marzollo's seemingly straightforward rhymes are marked by wit and subtlety. The fun-house theme is exploited to grand effect in the scenery choices. Musical instruments and symbols, clown puppets and toys proliferate; and sets incorporating fun-house mirrors, magician's props, dressing room paraphernalia, bandstands and so forth not only create atmosphere but add to the complexity of each puzzle.

I Spy Fantasy--Once again, rhyming riddles direct a hunt for a series of objects in each of 13 sumptuously styled photographs, and once again Wick goes to extraordinary lengths to achieve just the right look. For example, in creating the set for a photo of an elaborate sand castle under attack by armored knights, he used two tons of sand, compressed it in a frame, then carved out the castle. In another noteworthy spread, titled "Blast Off," kitchen gadgets are arranged to construct a space station complete with launch pad; eerily diffused lighting seals the otherworldly effect. Aside from one truly magical shot (of a spinning Saturn made up of plastic toys) the volume goes no further than its remarkable predecessors-then again, maybe it need not.