Search and Spot

July 15, 2016
Ljungkvist follows up Search and Spot: Animals (2015) with a bevy of vehicles to spot amid fleets of planes, boats, cars, buses, and other ways of going.Even Waldo isn't better hidden, as the rank after rank of tiny, fine-lined shapes and narrow bands of color on each spread offer dizzying challenges to even the most practiced young eyes. The tallies of what to look for within each bewildering visual maze are likewise exhausting--one spread, for instance, conceals "10 helicopters, 10 hot air balloons, 8 airplanes with one propeller, and 6 planes that have 2 propellers." Elsewhere, on one spread, diverse shapes including "6 green things that you would pedal" overlap to create a jumble of lines and colors, and on another, among 78 multihued and identically shaped bicycles on a page are seven with a particular sequence of colors on their thin wheels and bodies. In four cases text in large circular frames is placed over the patterns rather than to the side, leaving many vehicles or items only partially visible. Neat as the visual patterns are, their excruciatingly fine-grained complexity is likely to cause more frustration than pleasure, even in obsessive types. (visual key online) (Picture book. 4-8)

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October 1, 2016

K-Gr 3-This latest in the series of seek-and-find visual puzzle books doesn't disappoint. Over a series of single pages and spreads, readers are encouraged to pore over clean, colorful illustrations of a variety of modes of transportation to find specific vehicles. The puzzles cover all means of transport-from cars, bikes, and buses to boats, hot-air balloons, and planes to emergency and construction vehicles of every ilk. Ljungkvist's detailed illustrations ensure that this won't be just a read-once-and-move-on kind of title. Even after repeated readings, there are plenty of vehicles and clever details to fuel many a conversation about the pictures. VERDICT This is a great purchase to engage lovers of things that go as well as fans of seek-and-find materials-both perennial audiences in libraries.-Amy Koester, Skokie Public Library, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 5, 2015
Ljungkvist pairs the sophisticated design of her Follow the Line books with the hidden-object aspect of her 2013 collaboration with Mem Fox, Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!, as she asks readers to locate animals and objects in patterned spreads packed with dogs, insects, fish, and more. Similarly posed, overlapping animals with varying colors and textures keep things challenging—a cat-themed page features felines shown in silhouette, outline, and photographic textures. The straightforward, reader-directed text appears in large circles, a kind of visual pun on the “spot” of the title. Bold, contrasting colors and the midcentury atmosphere of the artwork (the lily pads Ljungkvist creates for several dozen frogs recall “boomerang” patterned Formica from the 1950s) make this seek-and-find book stylish enough to spawn a wallpaper line. Ages 4–7. Agent: John Rudolph, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

January 1, 2017
This companion to Ljungkvist's Search and Spot: Animals! offers transportation-themed challenges for picture-puzzle fanatics. Single pages and spreads are packed with similar-looking (at first glance) vehicles or related objects; readers are charged with finding certain items amidst the busy, carefully composed pages. The stylish retro design is inviting and even soothing. The final page presents a new challenge and lists a website with answer keys.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2016
This companion to Ljungkvist's Search and Spot: Animals! (rev. 11/15) offers transportation-themed challenges for picture-puzzle fanatics. The approach is the same as before: single pages and spreads are packed with similar-looking (at first glance) vehicles or related objects; readers are charged with finding certain items ( Search and Spot 10 helicopters, 10 hot air balloons, 8 airplanes with one propeller ) amidst the busy, carefully composed pages. Three strikingly uncluttered double-page spreads spotlight specific objects to hunt for on a following spread: e.g., Lots of vessels go on the ocean, lakes, and rivers. Turn the page, and Search and Spot all of these boats and ships. The stylish retro design is inviting -- and even soothing -- encouraging viewers to let themselves be drawn into the game. The final page presents a new challenge and lists a website with answer keys. Detail-oriented search-and-find enthusiasts will welcome this offering. kitty flynn

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)