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By Mom Unplugged, November 14, 2007 9:42 pm

Amazon.com, in its review, calls this book “the most cultured alphabet book around.” Play the game “I spy with my little eye” …with art!

Each page is a different famous painting and the reader is asked to find an object in the painting beginning with a letter of the alphabet. A fun way to learn the alphabet and gain some art-familiarity too.

My 5 year-old “find-it” book fan found this at our local library and he loved it so much that we had to buy a copy to keep. In the same theme Lucy Micklethwait also wrote I Spy Shapes in Art and I Spy Animals in Art. We have since acquired these, and they are equally as fun.

The find-its are not terribly challenging and children quickly learn where to find the object mentioned for each painting, but opportunities are limitless for finding other objects that you designate. Also, my kids just like looking at the paintings and pointing out details.

If you want an “educational” find-it book, then give one of these a try.

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By Mom Unplugged, June 20, 2007 8:37 pm

This is a find-it alphabet book with a twist. The challenge is to find each letter of the alphabet in very realistic paintings of scenes of city-life (New York City is the inspiration). Some letters are very obvious, others not so easy.

I did an experiment, and upon opening the book randomly, the letters were hidden well enough that I couldn’t always figure out what I should be looking for. But if I went through the book in order so that I KNEW what was supposed to come next, it was easy (for me as an adult), but often quite cleverly disguised.

This is a really fun book for pre-readers (no words, just letters to search for) and readers alike. It is a great travel book, or one to keep in the car. It really makes both kids and adults learn to look at everyday objects with new eyes.

The artwork is truly amazing and each page is a pleasure to look at. No wonder it is a Caldecott Honor Book!