I spy with my little eye …
Something with silky feathers.
I like to peck seeds.
I Spy Pets features a puppy on the cover. That puppy is peeking through an ‘I spy’ window on ‘something with silky feathers.’ The ‘something’ is partly revealed through the peep hole and offers the reader a clue so they can guess the pet before they turn the page. There is also some hint in the images about what pet they will find once the page is turned. Once guessed, that pet offers ‘I spy …’ to another pet. And so on, each opening reveals a new pet. The final opening returns to the first pet, and then another of the pets invites the reader to look through the peep hole and ‘spy’ something else.
‘I Spy …’ has been a perennial favourite game of many generations and is often one of the early games played on car journeys. Teamed with (mostly) common household pets, young children will soon have answers to these ‘I spy …’ questions. The final opening shows all the pets in silhouette for a young reader to identify. The images are uncrowded and have just enough information to engage and encourage page-turning. Recommended for babies and pre-schoolers.
I Spy Pets, Edward Gibbs Koala Books 2013 ISBN: 9781742760704
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller
Available from good bookstores and online.