Have you seen this series of books? They are amazing. Do you see that the dock is a cutting board with cinnamon stick piers? Do you see that the Ferry is an upside down brush? Do you see the building made of Fig Newtons? Crazy! Check out this link for another view on Amazon. Hit the “Search Inside” button for a close up of a train which is actually made from a coffee pot, handcuffs, wrenches and soda cans. With a baby shoe on top! Whoa!

We picked this book up for $.59 at Goodwill. The kids said they did not want it, but I was intrigued. Now I cannot put it down and they love it too. We read it at bedtime, taking turns pointing out things we see. Geetle sometimes sees the abstract items (i.e. “hey, that carnival ride is made of scissors!”). But she is often fooled. She likes the game, however and is seeing more and more each time. They say there is 100 hidden items on each page. So far, we have not looked at the answer page; we prefer to discover a few more each time.

Surprisingly, Pookie is learning to see both the abstract and the concrete. One time he will tell me its a sidewalk, the next time he will say its crackers. Both are true! I worried that this book might fry his brain a bit, since abstract concepts are tough for him, but he seems to be doing well. He also likes a book called Baby Food by Saxton Freymann, in which fruits and vegetables are made into baby animals. When we read this book, he will tell me the pictures are of “banana giraffe” or “monkey kiwi.” I think both these books have helped him see how the concrete and the abstract are connected.

If you had a “Magic Eye” book 15 years ago and could not put it down… or wondered “Where’s Waldo”….you need to get a book from this series. Same addiction, new millennium.