Search and Spot: Animals!

Swedish designer Ljungkvist (Follow the Line Through the House, rev. 7/07) uses page-turns to play a game of hide and seek in this creature-themed search-and-find book. The puzzles come in two formats: spreads made up of a busy mixture of similar shapes ("Search and Spot 10 cats looking out their windows on this sunny morning") and cleanly designed pages showing specific creatures to find on the next spread ("Many different kinds of dogs are out for their morning walk. Turn the page, and Search and Spot all of these furry canines"). Requiring the reader to pick out distinct shapes from what at first appear to be random patterns, the puzzles become increasingly complex. The more carefully readers look, the more observant they will become, finding exact matches among similarly shaped objects. Ljungkvist uses the digital medium to its fullest, employing a clean, retro-chic palette and repeated forms that differ in subtle ways. This is not a book to be rushed through and is certainly not meant for large groups. But it could be enjoyed a few pages at a time, or even all at once, by a child who is up for a challenge. Each spread is an elegant display of design and balance, worthy of close observation even after the search-and-find goal has been met. For those who lack the necessary patience, a website listed on the final page shows the location of each hidden animal. Lolly Robinson

Ljungkvist uses page-turns to play a game of hide-and-seek in this creature-themed search-and-find book. Requiring readers to pick out distinct shapes from what at first look like random patterns, the puzzles become increasingly complex. Each spread is an elegant display of design and balance, worthy of close observation even after the search-and-find goal is met. A website shows the animals' locations.