Happiness is...a good book. (Summer Reading edition #20)

I Spy With My Little Eye
Author: Edward Gibbs

Pages: 32
Age Range: 2+
Published: 2011
Genre: Picture Book 

Cover Score: ****
Overall Grade: ****
Rating: G

The simple childhood game/chant of ‘I Spy’ is given a delicious twist with the inclusion of an actual spyhole in the illustrated pages. The eye of a creature is shown on one side of the spread as if being seen through a telescope lens, the opposite side of the spread tells/shows you the color (I spy with my little eye...something that is blue) with an additional hint/clue for the reader. The spot of color is actually a cut out hole that when the page is turned adds the glimpsed eye back into the full illustration of the animal. Blue whales, gray elephant, white polar bear, yellow lion, orange orangutan, red fox and green frog....varying animals, habitats, colors and such leave the door wide open for discussions.

The final spread shows all the animals in silhouette against a darkening sky under a full moon with the whale's fluked tail cutting across it to create a golden cat's eye image and the invitation to see what else you can spy. The back cover also has a spy hole, perfect for continuing the game with a young reader.

The illustrations are bright and bold with kind of a spongy watercolor effect to them. Great fun!