Do You See What I See?

A boy tries to get one of his animal friends to come with him to the circus

PreSchool-Grade 1 A child wants someone to take him to the circus, but Elephant, Monkey, Zebra, and Pig are distractedly looking for something; never fear, Bear has tickets, and so away they go. Two visual games add interest to this simple story: sights visible through small die-cut windows are not what they seem, and the animals are looking for circus tickets (naturally) hidden to them but visible to readers. Very brief text is printed in balloons. Illustrations resemble some of the Ahlbergs' work (especially Peek-a-Boo! Viking, 1981) in color and style: clearly delineated figures; soft, harmonious tones throughout; plenty of small, common objects to identify. Unfortunately, the window scenes are notably contrived: a ``frog'' turns out to be the wheels of a toy train and a green hat; what looks like a human hand with shears about to cut off Pig's tail is just shears and a rubber glove, both hanging at odd angles from hooks. Tana Hoban explores this idea more successfully in Look Again! (Macmillan, 1971). John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

As a small boy tries to round up his animal friends for a day at the circus, he finds each of them at home, but engaged in some kind of search. His companion, a small dog with a sharp tongue, follows him from door to door, and finally (with Bear) to the circus. There, all the other animalsan elephant, zebra, monkey, and pigcatch up to them, tickets in handso that's what they were looking for. At the book's end, readers can begin again and search for the tickets, hidden all along in the drawings. It's a clever picture book, with cutout windows that offer a misleading glimpse of the animal on the next page. The illustrations are lively and the small boy determined; the dog's dialogue with himself is amusing and guides children through the illusions.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.