(3) K-3 Photographs by Walter Wick. Twelve photographs of spooky scenes in and around a haunted house are paired with rhyming couplets that prompt readers to search for numerous objects hidden in the double-page spreads. Similar to the previous books in the I Spy series, this volume will hold appeal for picture puzzle fans. Originally published in 1996; now with new bonus challenges by Dan Marzollo and Dave Marzollo.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Chad Phillips. Opting for breadth over depth, Marzollo introduces--in what feels like a hurry--everything from skip-counting and grouping to tally marks and the commutative property of addition. Still, kids will enjoy completing the text's rhymes: "Our chicks paired off, / which helps us when / we skip count / 2, 4, 6, 8, ____ (10)." Photographs show toys (puppets, marbles, animal figurines) in eye-catching arrangements.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(3) K-3 Photographs by Chad Phillips. Rhyming sentences describing equations ("10 monsters looking fine! / 1 folds down. / Still up?...") help put subtraction in context for young learners. Photographs of monster finger puppets, pipe-cleaner dogs, and other trinkets illustrate each problem. A letter at book's end connects the content with Common Core State Standards and gives parents and teachers ideas for other activities.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(3) PS Photographs by Chad Phillips. Number-themed rhymes encourage readers to fill in the blanks ("Not one thing. / This box is clear-o. / How many inside? / I count..."); while many counting books stop at ten, this one usefully goes to twenty. Accompanying well-composed photographs consist of animal figurines and various tchotchkes. A letter to parents and teachers is appended.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(4) K-3 Photographs by Walter Wick. Celebrating twenty years of publication, this volume compiles twelve photographs from previous I Spy books; some "Extra Credit Riddles" are appended. As usual, the rhyming riddles are bland, but picture-puzzlers will still love poring over the images.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max. A tree narrates this biography of the African American botanist and educator, describing his childhood interest in plants and his desire to attend school. The tree has some hokey lines ("I'm just a tree so I don't know what a president is"), but the book is a serviceable introduction to Carver. Bright acrylic illustrations show the man among flowers and trees. End matter provides additional information.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Photographs by Walter Wick. Wick's sharp, well-designed photographs once again enliven Marzollo's singsongy rhyming picture riddles. On one or two pages the featured letter is printed in red--in both upper and lower cases and in different places within words. Instructions for using the book as a reading aid precedes the text.

Reviewer: Rebecca Reed Whidden

(3) PS "10 little Christmas presents, in snow so fine... / Mouse gets earmuffs! Now there are nine." The rhyming countdown continues as each woodland animal opens its gift. The illustrations, formed with quick but careful black-outlined brush strokes, display the animals wearing the cozy gifts left by a Secret Santa. An appended "Memory Game" challenges readers to match the present to the animal.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(4) K-3 Photographs by Walter Wick. A brief, rhymed text identifies items that the reader is supposed to find within a series of busy double-page spreads. The photographic tableaux include a store window crowded with antiques and a dresser top covered with jewelry and mementos. Most of the material has been published in previous I Spy books, making this dizzying volume necessary only for the uninitiated.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) PS Photographs by Nancy Sheehan. This small-scale alphabet book includes twenty-six vivid, candid color photos of expressive babies and toddlers engaging in behaviors that correspond with the featured letter: "All gone!" (a baby holds up an empty bowl), "Bubbles" (children blow bubbles), "Clap! Clap!" etc. However, the featured letter isn't highlighted or set apart, so this book will be less than useful for letter identification.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Suse MacDonald. Children prepare for a Christmas pageant that culminates with a child dressed as a star overlooking the manger scene. The rebus text is simple and repetitive. There are no words at all, rather, "I can see a sheep" is written with a picture of an eye, a can, the letter C, and a sheep. Suse MacDonald's illustrations are clear and cheerful. The book is pleasant, if unremarkable, holiday fare.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Photographs by Walter Wick. Using collages from previous I Spy books, picture puzzles for each month of the year are presented, while the clunky rhyming verse asks viewers to find specific objects in each visually engaging photograph. "Extra credit riddles" at the end provide a different kind of challenge as readers must pore over all pages to locate the items. Marzollo gives instructions to children who want to create their own visual riddles.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Photographs by Walter Wick. This book uses twelve photographs from previous I Spy books and adds new "harder" riddles. There's nothing particularly challenging about the riddles themselves, however. The often clunky verses simply itemize obscure objects for readers to find in the meticulously arranged photos. Picture puzzle lovers won't care, though; they'll still delight in poring over these pages.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(4) PS Illustrated by Suse MacDonald. "Every bird loves a tree / Every flower loves a bee / Every lock loves a key." Each stanza in this simple rhyming poem describes the affectionate relationship between two things, ending with "And I love you." The rebus is easy to guess and is helped along by the rhyme. Sheep, pigs, sand pails, socks and shoes, among other common images, populate the saccharine illustrations.

Reviewer: Amy Timberlake

(4) K-3 Photographs by Walter Wick. Using the familiar formula, Wick creates and photographs a coastal village. Pedestrian rhyming riddles lead the reader back to the pictures as they hunt for treasure. Additional riddles are provided for the advanced searcher. Marzollo's piece on "How to Write I Spy Riddles" will help teachers and librarians replicate this type of wordplay, which will appeal most to picture puzzle fans.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) PS Harper Growing Tree series. Rhyming verse that emphasizes simple words such as 'new', 'moo', 'two', and 'shoe' combines with simple, child-friendly illustrations in this board book. The Mylar mirror on the last page will add sure-fire appeal, however, the concepts and artwork make this book more appropriate for older babies than for the publisher's age designation of "Newborn."

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) K-3 Photographs by Walter Wick. "Classic" photographs from seven previously published I Spy volumes are repackaged with a different set of rhymes asking readers to hunt for new objects in each double-page spread. As with other titles in this series, this book will appeal to picture puzzle fans, but there's not much that's fresh or original here.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne