Book Description

Reviews (7)

Thinking outside the box
I got this book, along with 3 other Sloane & MacHale lateral thinking puzzle books for Christmas one year. At first it seemed like a sorry excuse for a gift, but as I read this one first, I found that it was a challenging endeavor of the mind. Lateral thinking, it seems, is taking a situation and finding a solution that is not the most obvious, but usually the most logical. That said, this is challenging to say the least. A good book for people who enjoy mind games.

Lateral doesn't mean implausible
There are some very clever puzzles in this book, and it is a lot of fun trying to rationalise a seemingly impossible situation. However, some of the puzzles have not an ingenious answer, but an implausible one. It works, but it makes no sense. The best way to back this up is to demonstrate. This is on of the easy puzzles taken from the very start of the book, so giving the answer away is no big deal (but stop reading if you don't want to know it):

One night during the Second World War, an allied bomber was on a mission over Germany. The plane was in perfect condition and everything on it worked properly. When it had reached its target, the pilot ordered the bomb doors opened. They opened. He then ordered the bombs released. They were released. But the bombs did not fall from the plane. Why should this be so?

Some clues are given, and the eventual answer is that the plane was flying upside-down. Now, lateral thinking it might be, but it makes no sense that a plane flying a mission during a war would order its bombs to be released over a target while it was flying upside down. A good puzzle encourages thinking, but anyone who seriously tries to answer that puzzle would discard the given answer as making no sense.

There are still some very clever puzzles to be found here, and the book is worth buying if you want a collection of lateral thinking puzzles, but beware that sometimes Sloane crosses the fine line between ingenious and implausible.

Review
I am a trainer at a teleservices agency. I have found this book to be full of puzzles that engergize my classes and make them think. It contains some really good puzzles that are not far fetched like some of the ones found on the internet. My only complaint is that it is rather short; there are not enough puzzles. If you are looking for a book with a lot of puzzles, pass on this one.

Great book
This book is an excellent resource for teachers. I have used it with my 6th graders often. It is the perfect thing to fill in an extra five or ten minutes and really boosts the students thinking skills.

Lateral To The Max
When I bought this book at a school book fair, I had kids begging me to swap with them, but I blatantly refused and I'm glad I refused because this book has served me hours of mind-boggling entertainment and it's time I got another one. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Can you spy "a tortoise, a hare, a tea bag, a key/ a clock, and a flag on a house in a tree"? It's not easy--but readers of all ages will have a whole lot of fun trying. With more than a dozen I Spy picture books under their belts, including I Spy Gold Challenger, the award-winning photographer/riddler team of Walter Wick and Jean Marzollo are masters of their art form. And in Treasure Hunt, they've outdone themselves. Readers search for subtly hidden objects on every beautifully composed and photographed page. At first glance the setting seems like any other quaint seaside town. Take a second look and discover that it's in fact a very realistic model, with giant pencil erasers filling truck beds and gargantuan pennies nestled among the boulders of an island. The result is stunning, a surrealistic adventure.

Children will love to pursue the mystery of the pirate's hidden treasure, narrowing their search with every delightfully cluttered page. Looking for an additional challenge? Try the extra-credit riddles. For the inspired reader, Wick and Marzollo also include pages on how to create I Spy riddles and pictures. (Ages 3 to 8) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (12)

I love the pictures of miniature settings!
I picked this book out because of the beautiful photography and the clever way objects were inserted into miniature settings. The 12 pictures in I SPY TREASURE HUNT are beautiful and fascinating to pore over. Sometimes the photographs are a bit blurry or hazy, though, which made me wonder if I was missing something. I wasn't always sure what I was looking for. Or you only see a tiny part of the thing you're supposed to find. And the extra credit riddles need to be on a foldout page so you can refer to them without flipping back and forth. Still, it's a beautiful, clever book and a lot of fun.

These are wonderful books for all ages
I didn't pay much attention to the "I Spy" books until I bought one for my niece. I thought it was strictly a children's book, and I only bothered looking at it to make sure it contained nothing objectionable. Ten minutes later, *I* was hooked! So now I have several for my 3-year-old niece and several that I'm "holding" for her.

"Treasure Hunt" is my favorite "I Spy" because the pictures relate to each other and when followed tell a story. "Spooky Night" also does this. The rest just seem to contain pictures that follow the theme given in the title but don't relate to each other. The challenger books don't have original pictures; they use the pictures from the themed books and give them new, supposedly harder, riddles.

In my opinion, the earlier books are the easiest and the later books are quite a bit harder (and maybe more suitable for older "children").

I personally prefer the themed books to the challengers and the later books to the earlier, but I heartily recommend any, or even all, of the "I Spy" books.

Looking for the seashell?
Iv'e enjoyed the priceless moments with my children looking for hidden treasures in this book.

I Spy Treasure Hunt
We love the I Spy series of books. We own them all and our kids have never failed to find the object they're seaching for, until this book. Page 22 and 23. We cannot find the seashell. Oh sure, your imagination leads you to believe certain shapes, objects, lights, holes, etc. appear that they could pass as a seashell, but nothing is conclusive. We have written letters to Jean Marzollo, but no response. We found Walter Wick's website, but it says his schedule is too busy to respond to an email. Frankly, we don't think it exists. If you know, please type in a review. Thank you!!!

Want Hours of Fun Stimulation For Your Mind? Here It Is!!
I absolutely *adore* the I Spy picture riddle book series, and have a number of them in my personal library collection. I am 19 years of age, yet I don't find these books to be for "little kids only". This book is outstanding in its ability to ignite the brain power in people of ANY age. For that alone, I'd give it five stars! The pictures are whimsical and creative, the riddles fun and challenging even to the "older" crowd. A great read, and DEFINITELY one to place on your family's Christmas list! ... Read more

Book Description

From its rickety gate to its cobwebbed attic, this haunted house contains 13 spooky environments. Readers will marvel at Walter Wick's beautifully executed photographs as they travel through each enchanting scene and solve the rhyming riddles, reading the story along the way. Over two million "I Spy" books have been sold to date. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A wonderful excursion into a world of details.
This is much more than just a children's book (although I'm sure it delights kids.) Amazingly detailed and photographed scenes draw you through a series a pictures detailing a journey through a spooky house. Along the way you search for items in the pictures, but it's much more than a simple find-the-hidden-objects puzzle because the scenes are filled with dozens of weird things that you aren't even asked to find. This book is great fun with friends of all ages!

great halloween table book
i liked it so much... i bought 5-6 and gave them as gifts..... then i found they had a christmas book...... then the little books for baby's.... can't wait for the little baby christmas and numbers..... i have spent so much on marzollo & wick books.... i should buy stock

Creepy
When I tried to donate this book to a local library, the children screamed. No way were they going to give up their spooky looking book, with lots of riddle limmericks and hunt-and-find fun to keep them busy into the wee hours. Betcha can't find all the candles and cobwebs, spiders and witches' brew in this year-round Halloween gem. Alyssa A. Lappen

Where is the Striped Cat?
My family loves this book and we all participate. However, we were stuck on the last page. Where is the Striped Cat?

A spooky story book from beginning to end
This book is well worth the money, even after you find all of the listed items on each page. You realize there is more to this book... everything is tied into each other. It is an adventure to figure out what the rebus clue leads you to in the end. My grandson and I really spent alot of quality time together on this book, and he still loves to pick it up and do it all again. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I Spy Books are fun
I spy books are fun to read. In i spy funhouse it is very good. They are very good at hideing things. I like all of the i spy books. They are all good books.

Entertaining Fun in your House
This is a funhouse book, It is worth a second look. Read it and you'll see, It does splendidly.

Kids love it, Moms love it, Neither throw a fit, And gladly they will sit, To read this book a bit.

The pictures are great! Can YOU find its mate? ... Read more

Book Description

School's open for I Spy fans, with a fun learning activity on every page. Readers will find a blackboard scene with brainteasers to solve, a classification puzzle to ponder, a nature scene to explore, and much, much more! ... Read more

Reviews (12)

A lot of fun!
My ten year old son introduced me to this fun little book (OK, It's big, but thin.), which he has been looking at for several years now. It has fourteen, two-page sized pictures of a collection of odds and ends connected with school. At the bottom of each of them is a list of things that you can look for (sort of like, Where is Waldo). But, read through to the end, there is a riddle about someone you'll find in each of the pictures.

This is a fun book. It challenges the young reader to concentrate on what is actually on the page, and pick out certain select items. I like that my son reads it for fun, even as the book is teaching him to concentrate and search systematically. He loves this book, and so do I. We both highly recommend this book to you.

I SPY SCHOOL DAYS IS SO FUN
I love this so much because it's fun, it's awesome, and now I want all the I Spy books. The I spy school days book rules. The coolest part was where all the toys were. This review was dictated to me by my 7 yr. old son.

Great Books
This is great! Also, in the "Be My Valentine" page, there's one that you should look for- a queen. It took me hours! Recommended.

Incredibly well done
Children of all ages (adults too!) will find something to enjoy in these pages -- the young ones just looking at the absorbing pictures and the older ones searching for the myriad of items hidden within each scene.

The scenes are each a two page photograph filled with many objects that revolve around a certain theme, from the alphabet to a town of blocks to a wooden marble machine that actually works (see the last pages for a note on this). At the bottom of each scene is a riddle to tell the searcher what he or she is looking for and to provide clues. Some of the objects are easy to find, some are impossibly difficult!

And for those of you who reach the end of the book and wish it wasn't over ... it doesn't have to be. There are additional riddles on the last pages so you can enjoy the pictures all over again.

Highly recommended.

Parent's best friend for a long trip
This book is as exciting for kids as it is for parents. I bought our first I Spy book for a long (17 hrs) plane flight with my 3.5 year old and it really did the job of entertaining him enough. Without it the trip could have been a nightmare. I recommend it to anyone who needs to keep a child entertained and occupied for a longer period of time.

Each page is a picture if multiple little objects. Under the picture there are several riddles, and kids can spend quite a lot of time looking for the objects. But parents can make addititional riddles--so many objects are hidden or not obvious. And they can have fun too.

The artwork is beautiful and sharp. While older kids can learn to be more observant, younger ones can enhance their vocabulary by learning the name of the objects (with an adult's help , of course). ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A non-traditional approach to logic puzzles.
This book contains thirty-seven puzzles aimed at testing your logic, perception and knowledge, and which only take around five minutes to read and solve.
Organized in a numbered format and placed in the first section of the book, the puzzles are presented as a short story of a mystery or an unsolved crime-case, posing, at the end of each, a question or two for the reader to answer. The assortment of mysteries offered include murder, theft, blackmail and deception, among others; and they are often clever, engrossing, and even funny. These mysteries will test both your reading and comprehension skills, as well as your problem solving abilities.
The solutions, sequentially arranged in the second section of the book, can usually, and frequently too easily, be arrived at through the clues contained within the mysteries. Only a few exceptions, which rely on what seemed to me as somewhat esoteric facts, not necessarily familiar to every reader, are a bit frustrating. But, since each solution gives both the answers to each mystery and line of reasoning used in figuring them out, some light is shed on those obscure facts.
One thing lacking in this book is an introduction or foreword, which might have given this volume a better overall presentation, the author a way to explain his purpose in putting this book together, and the reader a chance to get to know a little more about the author.
Overall, this book is a good and entertaining way to get launched into the world of the games of logic.

diverting but not too taxing..
I love logic puzzles and the like so this seemed like it would be something I'd enjoy. I found the book to be interesting, but the solutions to the puzzles were generally a bit easy, I often managed to pick out the clue and solve the puzzle after just one read through. I have read all the Sherlock Holmes books though - so I am kind of attuned to such foreshadowing....This would make a great book for younger people, who might find such a book a good introduction to logic puzzles.

Unique, engaging, but can be esoteric
If you like solving puzzles, but want something different from the traditional word or logic puzzles that you are used to, you'll like this book. The idea of making each puzzle a mystery that needs to be solved is both clever and engaging.

One of the nicest things about each mystery is that it does only take about 5 minutes to read through, making it easy to pick up the book at any time and complete an entire mystery.

The biggest problem with the book is that the solutions oftentimes rely on facts that I find a bit esoteric, such as how certain airplane models are built. But, not all of the mysteries are like this. I would recommend this book to any puzzle lover.

Challenge yourself or your child
Most of these terse stories are sharp and clever in their ability to give you the clue that will "solve the case" right within the short tale. The few that do this poorly you can easily forgive in that at least a couple of stories will force themselves on your mind or create a bit of trivia that you will never forget. For parents with young readers these mini-mysteries are especially useful in identifying those readers who can sort through a varity of information and discern what is needed or what is false. For voracious readers you will find these are similar to, and condernsed versions of, the famous "Encyclopedia Brown" and "Mini-Mysteries" series of tales by Sobol (which were aimed expressly at youth). ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Great!
These are great books for distracting our pediatric patients (and parents!) during procedures/tests.

Very Good I Spy Book
Great for all ages. This set of books is very good for testing your eyes. You will have tons of fun with these books. Families love these books.

Fantasy in Every Page!
Unless your memory is photographic, you will find it challenging to find the things described in these rhyming riddles to be a brand new each time you open this. Pretty soon, the items in the puzzle all look alike. Growing a little weary of looking, you eventually call out for help, which makes these a great family time. Funny but the older the person the more frustration they seem to have. My children's grandfather still gets so amazed with these then he gives up and says " its not on there...I looked " then the three year old will spot that same object he was looking for. The I Spy Fantasy has the most unbelievable pictures. There are also extra credit riddles in the back of the book so these books never get old. My family owns each one and these are truly our favorite!

Teaching and Old Dog to do New Tricks
This book in the "I Spy" series was a long-lasting adventure for my children, ages 3 and 5. They were able to complete many of the riddles on their own, working together to solve them. Then we (the parents) jumped in, and we were hooked immediately. Once we solved all the riddles, we then used the "extra-credit" suggestions in the back. That prompted us to make up our OWN riddles from the pictures. Then, it got interesting....one day, Poppy (Grandpa) came to visit, and he saw the girls working on the Fantasy Book. He became deeply engrossed in this book, as I had never seen before. After 10 minutes, my kids were helping my father solve the riddles. Seems he needed a refresher course on powers of observation (although eyesight was mentioned once, but discounted). My father spent an hour of his visit working and playing with my kids on this book. I know what his stocking will be full of this Christmas. I can recommend that to others as well...not for kids only!

The pictures are so good at hiding things.
In this book, you look for hidden things in fantastic pictures. Below the pictures there are the things you are looking for written down. I really like testing my eyes. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick team up yet again for another perfectlittle I Spy picture book. In this one, kids who are just learning toread can practice their ABC's with Wick's special photo illustrations andMarzollo's clever alphabetical rhymes: "I spy an L wearing lacy white, and ametal M that's screwed on tight." Borrowing from some of their previous books(I Spy, I Spy School Days, and others),the author-illustrator team adds an original twist to the usual alphabet book,with each letter covered in its own letter-inspired design. P is plaid, E is apink eraser, V is veiled with vines. Surrounding each letter are pictures ofobjects beginning with that letter (octopus, orange, ostrich). Young childrenwill enjoy identifying the crisp, detailed pictures and reciting the bouncyrhymes. (Ages 2 to 5) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great for those learning their letters.
This book is perfect for a child learning their letters, colors and names of familiar objects. My two-year-old has fun finding objects that begin with each letter of the alphabet and the rhymes are just his speed. Parenst of toddlers know how some books can wear on you after a few reads...this one doesn't. :)

Can you find...?
We play a game I invented called "Can you find...?" in many other related books and when I came across the I SPY series, I knew the author had a winner. We own a number of the I SPY books today and they have become our favorites. It teaches patients and focuses her attention on looking for the little details in life. I will admit that I still use my phrase "Can you find?" to this day. Easy to read series. Highly recommended to 3 years old.

Nice, but not what expected
Since I'm restricted to ordering my books online, I'm unable to peek inside to check out the pages.

The alphabet is great with a picture scheme on each of the letters that represent the first letter of the word. It's not difficult to find the letters as they place about 3 large letters on a page with anywhere between 4-7 small pictures around..all on a white background. The inside pages are nothing like the cover.

The numbers and alphabet books might be better for a child up to age 1 (at least in the case for my child).

I bought this for my child's 2nd birthday hoping she'd have to search and find the letters of the alphabet to make it a little more interesting for her. It's still a nice alphabet book for practicing, but not so much for searching.

I found the numbers book to be more interesting since it offered more objects on the page that is more similar to the typical 'I Spy' series. The numbers are still clearly visible, so still not much searching. I'll have to order the older children's I Spy books since young children are more intriqued with complexity than with simple unchallenging pictures.

I SPY LITTLE LETTERS
I have worked with children as a pediatric nurse for 31 years and have spent a great deal of time reading children's storybooks to the children under my care. I purchased "I SPY LITTLE LETTERS" for my 29 month old grandchild. There is no better way to give a young child a sense of pride than by asking them to find objects on the page of a book. I am a believer in the "I SPY" concept so we proceeded to read the book together. What a delightful book! It is colorful, cheerful and fun too. The pages will keep a child busy for a while for there is a lot to do. Colorful letters and easily identifiable objects and figures are to be found on every page. The book challenges a child to observe, find and verbally express their discoveries. What a sense of accomplishment it is for a child to be able to discover things. I highly recommend this little board book for toddlers. It is a terrific early introduction to reading. ... Read more

Book Description

It is I Spy Mystery's 10th anniversary! To commemorate this event, a new challenge has been added. Just when you thought this classic I Spy could not get any better . . . we give you all new EXTRA CREDIT RIDDLES! More difficult than before, these new mysteries are sure to delight I Spy fans -- both old and new! ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Captivating!!
My 5 year-old godson is absolutely enchanted by this book. It is his absolute favorite and the first thing wants when he comes over. It has been a source of countless evenings of entertainment for our family. The layout and photography of each page is very creative. This book is one that can be enjoyed by kids of all ages, over and over again!

My Favourite in the I Spy series
I have been a fan of Walter Wick's photographs and Jean Marzollo's rhymes since I was nine years old and my school friends and I huddled over the mat at school trying to find all the hidden items in the pages. Now that I'm eighteen I still love these books, not so much for the riddles but for the amazing and merticulous photographs, some of which just *beg* to have a story written about them (such as 'The Ghost in the Attic' photograph on pages 14-15). Each photograph has some sort of an enigma or mystery involved in it, whether it be messages written in the letters on building blocks, lost puzzle pieces or clues to a secret birthday party.

A complaint was made that 'I Spy Mystery' has no story to it. This is because this book was one of Wick/Marzollo's earlier editions, and it is only with their latest books - 'I Spy Spooky House' and 'I Spy Treasure Hunt' that they add a plot thread. But there is a theme in the other books, and this one is obviously 'mystery'. Each photograph is intriguing, and each riddle has a specific object to find that harks back to many old mystery and adventure books that you may have read as a child, whether it be 'the missing key to the chest', 'proof that the cat knocked over the can', 'the stolen diamond ring' or 'the pirate's X'. These types of clues add an extra dimension to the pictures and children will be more drawn into the hunt for the objects in the pictures, and as I mentioned before there is no end to the inspiration the photographs create - these are the perfect books to use to kindle a child's imagination.

It isn't just the riddles at the bottom of each page that will keep you occupied, there are more mysteries to be found at the back of the book: riddles that have to be matched to the photos, a charm bracelet that had its charms scattered throughout the pages, a cat that can be found in every page and a heart shaped box that's lost all its contents - these too are concealed throughout the book.

All in all, this is one of the better 'I Spy' books - in particular the photographs 'The Birthday Hunt', 'The Golden Cage', 'The Ghost in the Attic' 'The Secret Note' and 'Chain Reaction' are particularly well made.

P.S. (spoiler) To the reviewer who had trouble finding the 'dolphin' in the photograph 'The Naughty Kittens', it can be found on page 24 in the large tree. Look closely at the green on the right-hand side and you can see that it frames the blue shape of a dolphin against the blue background.

This series is great
These pictures are so great. Have fun with your grand-children or your children. These books are very mesmorizing. I own all the copies and I am anxiously awaiting a new arrival.

No theme to the book makes it uninteresting
After purchasing and thoroughly enjoying I SPY Spooky Night with my young son, I was very eager to buy I SPY Mystery for him. However, both my son and myself were disappointed in I SPY Mystery. The "mystery" in this book is not obvious from viewing the pages. To find out what the mystery is, you must go to the back of the book (which I did just by chance), where it is explained that a charm bracelet has broken and the charms have been scattered; the mystery is to find the charms, one per page in the book. This is not a particularly captivating task, especially when you consider that there is not really a mystery (or any other) theme or consistency across the pages in the book to make them interesting, and the idea of finding charms is, well, boring. As mentioned above, we own I SPY Spooky Night. Each page in the Spooky Night book shows you a different location in a haunted house, from the front gates and the outside of the house, to the living room and the garden outside -- each page has the same haunted, spooky theme which actually makes you feel like you are really exploring a haunted house. We also own I SPY Treasure Hunt, and while we enjoy Spooky Night more, Treasure Hunt is full of consistently themed pages containing glistening gold coins and other treasure related items. By contrast, I SPY Mystery is a collection of seemingly unrelated pages: One page is completely filled with marbles that have tiny images on them, another is a close up of sand with some shells and only a few small items buried in the sand, and another is a view through three or four keyholes of different kinds of toys in the room. In all, the weak "mystery" and the lack of a cohesive theme throughout the book made this book uninteresting reading for me and my son.

Amazing Photography
This is a wonderful series, my family has each book and we get so much enjoyment. The I spy Mystery I really feel has some great creative photography. I thought some of the pictures may be scary for the young but that wasn't so. They seem to be amazed with the photo that is like peeking though a keyhole and especially the pages with all the marbles. The extra credit questions in the back of this one are really a lot of fun. You can't go wrong with this book and is great for all ages! ... Read more

Book Description

Riddle Me This!

Can you name four things you eat with a spoon? The largest state in the USA? The sound made by a lion?

If so, this brand-new collection of word searches, fill-in-the-blanks, crossword puzzles, and word scrambles is just for you! Full of riddles and jokes, these puzzles are not only fun, but funny, too. A special introduction by Will Shortz, the crossword editor of The New York Times, points out just how fun these games can be.
... Read more

Book Description

Who knew that math could be so cool? Crammed with games, puzzles, and trivia, The Everything® Kids’ Math Puzzles Book puts the fun back into playing with numbers!

Inside, you’ll be able to:
·Decode hidden messages using Roman numerals
·Connect the dots using simple addition and subtraction
·Learn to create magic number squares
·Use division to answer musical riddles
·Match the profession to numerical license plates

If you have any fear of math—or are just tired of sitting in a classroom—The Everything® Kids’ Math Puzzles Book provides hours of entertainment. You’ll get so caught up in the activities you won’t even know you’re learning! ... Read more

Amazon.com

After mastering the many I Spy books and then moving on to conquer thetougher-riddled I Spy GoldChallenger, kids begged Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick for an evengreater challenge. Naturally, this creative team rose to the occasion, creatingthe ultimate: Extreme Challenger! Open to any page and find amind-boggling array of things: "a lobster, a pig, a guitar, / Two skulls,a button, a spring, a car." Wick's exceptional photographic skill renders everyobject crystal clear, whether on a blank white background or against a backdropof dusty old bookshelves with antique toys, keys, clocks, and tools. Marzollo'srhymes are straightforward yet clever, matching "an ace" with "a missingbottle's space," and "puffball shoes" with "sad blue ooze." Children will haveso much fun "I spying," they won't even realize they're developing their visualdiscrimination ability, as well as their reading and vocabulary skills! Extracredit riddles at the end of the big, colorful book provide an additional testof readers' nimbleness, and the authors also encourage children to write theirown rhyming picture riddles based on the illustrations in the book. Okay, allyou eagle-eyes out there, have at it! (Ages 3 to 8) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Fun for all ages
This was the #1 request on my wish list for my 2 year old son. Not only can he study the pages to find animals, trucks, and toys, I can keep occupied by the riddles. He cannot find the difficult objects, but enjoys the colors and looking for the more obvious things. All of these books are excellent. They increase concentration and problem solving. They are great for 2 years to 100 years.

Provides hours of intense, enjoyable effort.
This book has been the source of hours of mind-stretching entertainment for my children and several hours of frustration for me. The puzzles are difficult, yet not impossible and there is nothing better in improving your powers of intense observation. They can be enjoyed by all children approximately eight years of age and older. I highly recommend it.

this book is great!
i think the i spy series should have more than 5 stars. it deserves 100 stars! i like them because of the photos and picture riddles, those are both cool. you should definitely try to collect these books because they're SO neat. keep 'em coming, marzollo & wick! and thanks for making such great books. p.s. these books are GREAT for road trips!

Extreme I Spy!
In which we find hidden objects & rhyming riddles in this extremely challenging collection of far-out photos of every imaginable object from hair clips to teething rings, from spiders to masks, from dinosaurs to baseball games.

Some pages have trays from old, old toy boxes & some pages are pure plastic paradises. There's a page of weird & toothy monsters made from pipe cleaners, corks & jelly beans & another of old seed packets, school books, chalk slate boards, ink pens & an abacus.

Boy, these sure are harder than I ever remember the game to be & a lot more fun! For one thing, they don't disappear around a corner as our car drove on!

Great for those long waits in airports or rainy summer days!

Pretty good "Greatest hits"
As others have mentioned, the "Challenger" books compile photos from other I Spy books. I'd say the riddles in this one are a little more difficult than the riddles that accompany the pictures in the original books. The clues tend to be for smaller, more obscured, or otherwise more difficult-to-find items in the pictures, so they are a little more challenging. Therefore still worth getting, I think, even if you have some of the original books.

We and our kids (Almost 4, and 1 1/2 years) love them, but one thing I'd say for small kids is that some of the pictures tend to be a little spooky (creepy clowns, skeletons, etc.). It seems to bother them less than I think it would, but if your kids are particularly sensitive...

Overall, the I Spy books are excellent and highly recommended! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles
Great Lateral Thinking Puzzles is really great! It's another excellent book in author Paul Sloane's outstanding lateral thinking puzzles series.
The puzzles in this book truly make you think! They're delightful to solve. It's absolutely addicting. Once you read the first, you can't put the book down till you've tried to solve the rest. In fact, you want another of his lateral thinking books after reading this--which is why we have all that he has written so far! Intriguing and challenging--these lateral thinking puzzles will delight expert puzzle lovers and novices alike. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

These are great!
No matter how old you are, Madlibs are hilarious. My husband & I love to play these Madlibs to relax after a long hard day...we both remember them from our Childhood. The best thing is that you can work on a madlib book and then put it away for a few months and do them all again with different equally hilarious results.

Sometimes they are more funny with more creative, perhaps more taboo words...

Mad libs
really fun. great game for on trips or at partys ... Read more

Book Description

Following on the popular success of Al Seckel’s first book of Optical Illusions, awarded the American Library Association’s Best Book for Young Adults 2001 (non-fiction category), this second volume More Optical Illusions offers 160 more bewildering images, the majority of which have never been published.

Static images that flash and scintillate, color and brightness illusions, impossible figures and objects, and geometric and subjective motion illusions among many others, offer fascinating insights into one of science’s greatest mysteries – how we think and perceive.Many of the images come from recent discoveries in vision science and contemporary artwork.

Brief and up-to-date scientific explanations accompany each effect describing how our minds can misinterpret visual indicators, how pictures change depending on context, and how receptors in the retina can give our brain conflicting information. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

More Optical Illusions
I purchased this book from Amazon.com as a set, paired with "the Great Book of Optical Illusions" by the same author. "More Optical Illusions" is simply the last 4 chapters of "the Great Book of Optical Illusions"!! Why on earth does Amazon sell these as a set, giving the impression that the "More" book is a collection of different illusions than the first book???
If you buy these 2 as a set, you are simply paying extra for another copy of the last half of "Great Book...".
What a rip...

The Seckel Tandem, the King & Queen of Illusions
The 2 Seckel optical illusion collections (this volume + "Art of...") are the best collaborations I've ever seen on the subject. Not limited by or to the trite everyday old-time "dot-outside-box" stuff relegated to kids, these 2 volumes sample every category in optical-illusion science, including perspective, color, a whole host of 3D/1D impossible objects (including our old friend, the "3-pronged blivet" of 1964), modern/surreal artwork/photography, and op-art psychedelia as well as illusions which are actually experiments that test our other senses. Many you still don't believe even after proof!

I especially had interest in the "face" category, which includes faces hidden within plants and scenery; upside-down faces within right-side-up faces; the mirror-image bilateral split of Hillary Clinton's face; and what I call the "Eyes (& Mouths) of the Beholder" heads (Thatcher & Frakes) in which faces of famous people can be presented upside-down, while only some of their facial features left upright. Photo-cropping software can reproduce such effects. These last 2 ideas could start national fads if the results weren't so unnerving...

The illusions are beautifully presented on each glossed page with enough white-space for breathing room, while not too much to be considered a waste of page area. The paperback books are strongly bound, so pages wouldn't easily become dislodged. Most of the entries have explanatory notes set up as "footnotes" at the end of each "gallery" section (I would have to dock 1/2 star because several of the illusions I questioned were left without explanations).

Get one of the volumes, get both; they complement each other (but the 3rd, larger book, "Great Book of..." appears to be a rehash of the material in both of these). ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Totally Cooooooool
This book is great.It has lots of fun games including crosswords, wordsearches, tounge twisters, and much more.It is a ton of fun, and you can do it almost anywhere(or at least anywhere you take your brain).It's soooooooo good.I TOTALLY reccomend Brain Waves. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent ! Entertaining and enjoyable!
Gave this series to a 6 and 9 year old last Fall. This is their favorite book. Educational, entertaining, and fun to find the "seach for" items. PLUS - they learned an incredible amount about Sea Life and Sea Animals - that they rememeber MONTHS later.Adults and children love this. Wonderful "hands on" book for kids!

Excellent for kids that like "hidden picture" books
The illustrations are fantastic and my son really loves to look for all the hidden objects (some of which are very hard to find). The text is really good also and we very highly recommend this whole series. ... Read more

Book Description

Continuing in the tradition of Books 1, 2, and 3 The Greatest Dot-to-Dot Book in the World (Book 4) is the fourth in a series of connect-the-dot books which stand apart because of their complexity and variety. As in Books 1, 2 and 3, there are traditional dot-to-dots as well as unique innovations and variations for those who can count into the hundreds and follow simple instructions. Readers will appreciate the fact that you can't tell what the images are before you start as well as the playful challenges that maintain excitement throughout this book of all new puzzles. This fun and relaxing book will entertain young and old alike! Ages 8-adult. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Greatest Dot To Dot Book In The World Book 4
This series of dot-to-dot books are wonderful. As a child, I loved games and challenges. Dot-to-dots and mazes were my favorites. I had no idea these books even existed until I saw them in a Bits and Pieces catalog several weeks ago. I looked them up on Amazon and found there were four books. I ordered all four books from Amazon even though I thought I would probably be disappointed if they were too simple. Even as an adult, I still work dot-to-dots when I find them in magazines and newspapers, so I figured I had nothing to lose even if these books were for children. I'm in the baby-boomer generation, so I confess I like to revisit my childhood era occasionally.

Boy, was I surprised! When they came in the mail, I sat up until 5 a.m. the next morning working some of the puzzles. I am retired with 30 years in my local school system, so it wasn't like I had to get up early. After I would complete one puzzle, I would think I'll just do one more. Then another. Then another. I tried all the different types of puzzles. I am so excited and I wanted your customers to know how much I enjoyed them.

Even my 76 year old mother enjoyed working the puzzles. Like me, she was very skeptical about ordering sight unseen.

I hope to see future publications of new books. I look forward to seeing Books 5, 6, 7, etc. real soon. ... Read more