Look-Alikes: The More You Look, the More You See! - Hardcover

Steiner, Joan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316713481 ISBN 13: 9780316713481

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2003

Synopsis

In Look-Alike Land, the more you look, the more you see! Using everything from acorns to zippers, artist Joan Steiner has created stunning three-dimensional scenes that will amaze and captivate puzzlers of all ages.

About this title

Review

"Come along! Jump aboard! Grab hold of my hand. / We're crossing the border into Look-Alike Land." So invites the opening lines of Joan Steiner's Look-Alikes, a three-dimensional miniature metropolis that's meticulously, ingeniously crafted out of everyday objects from mousetraps to milk bones. At first glance, a fancy hotel lobby seems just that, but take a closer look and you'll see a sofa made of gloves. In a sunny street scene, a building façade is laden with crackers, crayons form fence posts, and the tree is shaded by a stalk of broccoli. Children and adults alike will love poring over each picture, most of which contain more than 100 objects cleverly arranged to delight and deceive. Kids will easily identify many household objects, and the ones they may not recognize--a hosiery garter or flour sifter, for example--they'll learn from either the guide in the back or from a helpful parent. Good humor, a keen eye, and hours of hard work went into this visual marvel, which should be equally captivating for artists and I Spy fans. (Ages 5 to 105) --Karin Snelson

From the Author

GET TO KNOW JOAN STEINER, THE MIND BEHIND THE FANTASTIC CREATIONS IN LOOK-ALIKES (tm)

Q. How did you come to be a three-dimensional artist?

After I had been out of college for several years knocking around from one job to another that I didn't find satisfying, it occurred to me that I should try to make a career out of the thing I loved best (art) even if I had to do something fairly lowly in that field. That's how I began, and I turned out to be a little more talented than I expected. I discovered that the thing one loves best is likely to be the thing one does best.

Q. How did you decide to translate your art into a picture book format?

I loved doing these puzzles, and had been doing them for several years, but there were limited uses for them in terms of magazines and posters. A friend suggested that I try making a picture book incorporating my puzzles. But it took a long time to come up with a concept that would tie it all together. Then I came up with the idea of visiting a land where everything looked like something else.

Q. How long does it take for you to construct each scene?

It took me three and one half years total to complete the book, and each scene took several months to create. Some scenes took longer than others - like the train and the city scenes took forever because I was still working out the ideas while I put it together. I kept making them more intricate than I originally envisioned.

Q. How do you find the things you use in your creations?

Mostly by shopping! But it is not ordinary shopping. My projects take me to all different kinds of stores and other places too, like hardware stores, party stores, thrift shops, brickyards and art stores. I can spend four to six hours in one big store (very tiring!), slowly going up and down the aisles looking for ideas or for specific objects. I may spend ten minutes carefully looking at a mousetrap, turning it from side to side and upside down, thinking about whether it's something I can use. No wonder I attract the attention of store detectives!

I will go great lengths to get just the right item. For the circus scene, I decided I wanted to make the tent out of trench coat. I couldn't afford to buy a new trench coat just to make a tent out of it, so I visited a lot of thrift shops and Salvation Army stores. Of course you can't always tell what will work until you try it out, so I wound up buying several. Now I have a trenchcoat collection.

Q. What is the most unusual object you have incorporated into your art?

There is a hand grenade in the general store - that is probably the most unusual. Also cheese doodle are very challenging, and hard to glue!

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0316713481
• ISBN 13: 9780316713481
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32