(1) K-3 Illustrated by Grace Lin. Cold sleet is falling, and the protagonist of this home-and-back-again adventure tale, Alice, is stuck inside, bored. Then she spots a book on the floor and starts to read: "Once upon a time, there was a girl... She went to a place alive with colors, where even the morning dew was warm." "That sounds like our home," says one of the book's characters (a flamingo), who invites the child into the book. She climbs in and spends time with the animal characters. When it starts to rain, she wishes to be elsewhere, and the camels in the desert on the next spread of the book (one she's both inhabiting and holding in her hands) invite her to join them: "Turn the page and come in." And so it goes, the girl on a thrilling journey of the imagination, swimming through a coral reef, floating in space, and much more. At home, Alice has a plush rabbit and rabbit-shaped slippers, but a real (and vigilant) rabbit accompanies her on her journey; readers can seek-and-find it on every spread. The text builds patterns and a pleasing rhythm with repeating sentence structures; children will delight in anticipating what comes next. Lin's lush full-bleed spreads invite readers to take the journey with Alice, whose dress changes color in each environment, making her blend into every one of the worlds. That Alice is an Asian girl says much about the authors' wishes for all children to see themselves in the books they read--in this case, quite literally.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) PS In this funny and satisfying story for the very young, a little girl asks readers, "Have you seen Mister Kitty? He is hiding somewhere inside this book." We are asked to look for him, but whenever we see what appears to be one of Mister Kitty's attributes ("5 yellow spots," "2 green eyes"), a page-turn reveals what the die-cuts were actually hiding (five yellow snakes, two green crocodiles). Each reveal startles the girl's initially trusting dog, who humorously frowns, covers its eyes, or cowers behind the girl's legs. When Mister Kitty is finally found, his identity is a surprise that upends all our expectations ("ROAR!")--and scares the dog off completely. The book's structure is simple but effective, as left-hand pages use a different, single background color while right-hand pages are white, allowing the die-cut colors to pop. When Mister Kitty is found, the pattern changes to a full-bleed double-page spread incorporating all five colors for the happy reunion. "Let's go home, Mister Kitty!"

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2023

(2) PS This playful wordless picture book invites children to deduce from the shape and placement of footprints what is happening. The title page gives just a glimpse of a dark-haired child in bed, but from that point on we see only where the child has gone, following their small footprints getting out of bed, switching to slippers, heading to the bathroom, and so on. Muller's gouache, colored-pencil, and graphite pictures show a ­European-style house, blending clean, organized surroundings with pops of color and pattern but leaving room for a small child's little messes as they move around. The child is joined by something with paw prints, whose identity is hinted at by a leash hanging near the door as the pair heads outside into the snow. There's something to enjoy or wonder about on each double-page spread, such as the paw prints going around in circles, or the addition of a puddle of yellow in the snow after they have stopped by a tree; we also see others--birds, a horse, a duck, etc.--each with their own distinctive prints. Humor and imagination have free rein in this cozy and engrossing book.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(2) PS Rohde constructs a vibrant exploration of place beginning with a simple question and answer: "Where is the cat? Under the wobbly table." The wobbly table sits on the blue rug, and the blue rug is in the yellow room. The black cat makes its way out of the yellow room and past the green door into the colorful apartment. But the book continues: "Where is the colorful apartment? In the pink house." Beyond that colorful apartment in the pink house, the cat and its people make their way into the cheerful street filled with a diverse array of ­children and grownups. The (­color-coded) text proceeds in the initial Q&A format as the story zooms out--into the continent, the planet, the galaxy--but not without some appropriately feline mischief. Rohde's background in architecture is reflected in the eye-catching, color-blocked, and decidedly two-dimensional cityscapes. This engaging read-aloud opens the door for a number of classroom opportunities--adjectives, prepositions, ­mapmaking!--but its real power lies in stimulating a child's wonder and awe at the ever-expanding universe that surrounds us.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) PS How do eggs get from "farm to table"? From the very outset of this cleverly presented and organized book, readers are invited to find out: "Let's go with Ruby and Ned along the stone path, past the apple trees, the cows, and the sunflowers to the henhouse." After collecting eggs "from every nook and cranny" of the henhouse, Ned and Ruby hop into their bright red truck and begin the trek to sell and deliver the eggs. While Ned runs their stall at the farmer's market, readers ride along with Ruby to her many delivery locations--bakery, school, grocery store, and back home--where she and Ned receive a sweet surprise. Composed of straightforward dialogue and simple sentences, the text both complements the busyness of the illustrations and welcomes beginning readers to navigate the narrative on their own. The book design is inventive: Some double-page spreads include a simple, nearly full-bleed map and a panel of directions with labeled illustrations. Other spreads feature a decoratively framed verso, whose details reflect the next location along Ruby's many stops, while a small vignette on the recto, shaped subtly as an egg, highlights each friendly handoff. Warm and cheerful colors brighten the folk art–like illustrations. A delightful entry point for young readers to learn valuable mapping skills and enjoy searching the pages for all the nooks and crannies where eggs can be found.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(2) PS A child with numerous questions welcomes readers at the door of a stately, many-chimneyed mansion: will we help find the rumored ghosts in the house? Have we ever seen any? Do we know where to look? Viewers explore the house with the narrator, who peeks into rooms and closets; searches the library, a chimney, and the attic; and more. Jeffers features monochromatic images of rooms from architectural reference books and furniture catalogs, onto which he draws the narrator, who pops off the page with jade-colored skin and hair and in a dress with vivid chartreuse stripes. Readers turn translucent pages adorned with paintings of ghosts that reveal, on the next spread's verso, the location of the ghosts the narrator asks us to find: cue excited giggles as viewers spot specters near, but always hiding from, the narrator. The ghosts, depicted as white sheets with holes for eyes, are endearing and playful (gleefully jumping on the bed while the child looks under it), never too frightening or threatening to children, who are in control of the page-turns--and, therefore, of the ghost-sightings. Delightfully, we're also told that a collective noun for this group is "a fraid of ghosts."

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(1) K-3 Lehman's (The Red Book, rev. 9/04) latest is an inventive retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood"--wordless save for signage and with thought/speech bubbles containing only images (and occasional punctuation). The endpapers having clued us in that we are in the realm of fairy tale and nursery rhyme, the story begins. Wolfie the cat gazes hopefully at the cake that baker Big Red and his child Little Red are making, only to be sadly disappointed when Big Red puts the finished cake into a basket for Grandmother. As Little Red (carefully nongendered) makes the journey through town--past a host of nursery-rhyme and fairy-tale characters and punnily named shops--to Grandmother's house, Wolfie surreptitiously follows, humorously hiding in plain sight whenever Little Red pauses to chat with, say, Jack and Jill (whose speech bubble contains an image of a pail) or Little Boy Blue (a trumpet). Eventually Wolfie sprints ahead, dons a disguise, and crawls into Grandmother's bed. Little Red and Grandmother are onto Wolfie, however, and all ends well with the trio happily sharing cake. Throughout, Lehman offers entrancing details for keen-eyed viewers to notice (so many, in fact, that there's a key at the back). But the wealth of detail never distracts from the story's trajectory, thanks in part to the consistency of Little Red's speech bubbles (picturing Grandmother) and Wolfie's thought bubbles (cake)--until near the end, when they hug goodbye and the bubbles all contain red hearts. Another triumph from a master of wordless picture books.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(4) K-3 A dog invites readers to search busy, colorful pages for a cat. After eleven double-page spreads, the cat encourages readers to re-search the pages from back to front to find the dog. Both animals change colors as they travel past wide-eyed cartoon creatures in fantastic settings. The illustrations aren't subtle, but this offering will engage those who enjoy poring over minutiae.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(2) K-3 When cat Spot notices a girl putting up "lost" posters, the cat dashes off in pursuit of missing dog Dot, and Spot's boy owner joins the girl in her endeavors. As in Spot, the Cat, wordless black-and-white cityscapes--filled to the brim with people, pets, vehicles, activity, life--ensue. All ends happily, with new friendships launched all around. A fresh and entertaining offering from a veteran picture-book creator.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(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

(3) K-3 With vibrant mixed-media illustrations and playful interactive text, this book presents thirteen different animal species and their unusual collective names: "a conspiracy of lemurs," "a flamboyance of flamingos," etc. Animals are pictured in various poses and described by loosely rhyming verse while additional questions ("Who's sleepy?"; "Who's waving?") encourage readers to linger and examine each colorful spread. Further information on the animals is appended.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(4) K-3 Translated by Laura Watkinson. Illustrated by Philip Hopman. In this Dutch import, after two friends--dog William and panda Bobby--have an argument, the former says, "Just get on your bike and leave!" Leave Bobby does: he rides around the animal-populated city, blowing off steam until he feels contrite. Like bicycling Bobby, the story meanders, but readers will enjoy the seek-and-find aspect as Bobby is practically Waldo-like in the bustling oversize spreads.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Inspired by Jules Verne's novel, a small, bespectacled boy takes a fantastic journey through forty spreads with eighty challenges, including mazes, difference spotting, and other calls for mental contortion. The generous trim size contains the multitudes of balloons, bicycles, etc., depicted in pen-and-ink with spare digital coloring, elegantly hiding solutions in plain sight. Answer keys are appended.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(2) K-3 To take their minds off their missing dog, Cy and Poppy play a game of hide-and-seek in the woods. Watercolor illustrations alternate between Cy's hiding in a pile of branches and Poppy's suspenseful search for him, with the eerie, intricate backgrounds suggesting other visual finds. The illustrations strategically make the children look extremely vulnerable--until they both hear a noise that leads to a reunion with their dog.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(3) K-3 Translated by Paul Kelly. Illustrated by Miguel Bustos. In this Spanish import, young Lucas visits a variety of crowded spots (circus, airport, park) in search of a friend. His search is unsuccessful, but the reader is asked to spot dogs, ducks, cars, and more in bustling, stylized pictures dominated by the color purple. Final pages challenge readers to expand their seek-and-find experience by including friends ("I see something you can't see... What is it?").

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(2) K-3 In this tricky seek-and-find book, Grandad enlists help from his two grandpups (and readers) to track down missing decorations for his tree on Christmas Eve. Acrylic illustrations show the young ones scouring the messy house (inside and outside) for a variety of ornaments, before enjoying their decorating handiwork with cake and warm drinks. The book's unusual-for-Christmas bright-neon palette adds an extra visual challenge.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(3) K-3 On Halloween, the honeybee-costumed Bear (Bear's Merry Book of Hidden Things) searches for his favorite treat in a corn maze, pumpkin patch, haunted library, and more. He discovers candy corn, spider rings, and other Halloween-themed treasures, but there's no honeycomb to be found--until he arrives home. (Surprise!) Kids will gladly join in the search but may need to reference the last page for hints before returning to pore over the detailed scenes.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 In this detailed search-and-find picture book that lightheartedly peddles eco-friendliness, animals ride a variety of cycles (tandems, pedicabs, unicycles, etc.) throughout busy, green Cycle City as they prepare for a nighttime parade. Readers are tasked with finding characters as well as asked questions ("Where would you eat?"). The large trim size, bustling scenes, and depictions of neighborly animal interactions recall Richard Scarry's books.

Reviewer: Dorrie Karlin

(4) PS A double-decker bus travels around Letter Town seeking (in alphabetical order) rotund, cartoon-style letters representing a variety of letter-associated occupations, objects, actions, etc. Endpapers provide a key to each spread's picture puzzle. For an extra challenge, a second visual narrative involving a robber (R) is woven throughout. Although the rhyming text is occasionally forced, the playful illustrations should appeal to young search-and-find enthusiasts.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 Translated by Bill Nagelkerke. A boy named Finn and his dog wake to find that goblins have taken over. Boy and dog chase the sprites across twelve double-page spreads (through a garden, beneath the earth, etc.) that harbor mazes and items to find ("Finn searches for a lamp to light the way"). This seductive large-scale offering's art suggests M.C. Escher on a color bender.

Reviewer: Nell Beram