Can You See What I See? Once Upon A Time

Can You See What I See?

by Walter Wick

From the photographer of the bestselling I Spy books, Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time is a rhyming, search-and-find picture book--especially for preschoolers! Twelve fascinating compositions depict favorite fairy tales, folk tales, and classic stories where readers can use the picture clues to search for dozens of intriguing hidden objects in a far, faraway land filled with toys!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Art, Folklore

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Walter Wick is an American artist and photographer best known for the elaborate images in two series of picture book activities for young children, I Spy and Can You See What I See?, both published by Scholastic.

Reviews

[Elsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as fun as it was 11 years ago! Now that I’m older I appreciate the level of effort that went into the photography much more! These books are still a challenge, it’s hard to tell if it I’m better now or not (I can’t remember) but it’s not a 5 minute adventure that’s for sure!

[Rebecca Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate an insane amount of fun with this book. It brought back my love of ISpy and Can You See What I See books!!! I plan an getting my hands on more very soon☺️

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pictures are very pixelated is very hard to find things and it can be deceptive at times. Not a very good search and saw book

[Tym · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little search book with hand-crafted illustrations/photographs.

[Colleen Vick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I WANT ZERO JUDGEMENT I DID READ THIS IN 2024 AND STRUGGLED

[Mason Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not much improvement, even after 19 years (has it really been that long since kindergarten?). Pulling this off the shelf reminded me of how much I miss Scholastic Book Fairs.

[Nichole Haselhuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Description: A journey through fairy tales as done by the masterful author and photographer of the I Spy series of books.

Classroom Uses:
This book is a great book to keep in the classroom library for students to play with during free time. His books hold a huge interest with young children, with amazing photography and a challenge to read and understand rich words pertaining to objects they search for. It brings images to words and is a great way to build vocabulary.

I see this being a great jumping off point for a content area design project, using found objects, which our class can collect prior to this lesson. We can then read through the words in this book, look at the illustrations on the document camera and make insights in to the materials he used to create the settings.

[Gingaeru · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. This volume was more thought-out than "Dream Machine", but I still don't think it's quite easy enough to be appropriate for "all ages." This one, while easier in general, was noticeably more of an eye strain with some items being only one or two millimeters wide, and I found my brow was furrowed for the duration of my search. Thankfully, though, no items were located in the gutter. I don't know if the author had a thing for blondes or what, but there are certainly a lot of them here (Goldilocks aside).
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"Three Little Pigs": Super easy. The needle's placement is a classic.
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"Little Red Riding Hood": My biased favorite; very charming. Definitely more challenging than the last. That 3rd fork got me. Not sure about the thumb tack; maybe the thing holding the broom up?
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"Hansel & Gretel": Red raspberry? It's pale orange, though.
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"Beauty & The Beast": Oh, man... those infernal ships. I can't believe this one is intended for younger children. Did they really think, "Oh, yeah. They'll find 'em no problem."? The "whale" is also a bit fishy. Unique and tough, but I'm mad about how much time was lost to the 2nd and 3rd ships.
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"Goldilocks": A little challenging; not too bad.
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"Sleeping Beauty": From one blonde in bed to the next... The "pink" high heel came out red in my copy (I have normal color vision, by the way).
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"The Little Mermaid": Sneaky comb. The 7th seahorse is kind of small and hanging back; I could have easily gotten stuck on it.
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"Steadfast Tin Soldier": The bell is perhaps two millimeters wide.
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"Puss in Boots": I don't know what it is about the 7th black bird, but I only just noticed it (while looking at the cover) after writing my review. The white-plumed hat was easy enough to find, but it's only 1mm in size.
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"Rumpelstiltskin": Why did it have to be this guy? The eyestrain is strong with this one. The crown took an eternity to find. I thought, "It can't be the coin; that isn't a crown...", and it wasn't. I found it just as I was about to turn the page in resignation.
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"Cinderella": The "butterfly" is debatable; I don't know of any butterflies with abdomens that prominent. I'll have to put a pin in it, for now.
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"Ever After": Pure chaos. I'm counting the "whale" from B&TB as the 5th fish (though it could even be the reflection of the statue's fish; who can say?), and the "wicked fairy" from SB as the 2nd witch. (The pink high heel is actually pink on this page; go figure.)
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[Mirissa Holbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved how this book brought me back to my childhood days of I-Spy hunting through books. The pictures were not illustrations; they were actual objects making up the scenery, exactly as those I-Spy books were. They're actually from the same author, which I was pleased to find out. Although in class I didn't have time to search for each object, I did take the time to search for a few different ones. My favorite one was in the Sleeping Beauty story, how it told the reader to look for a witch with wicked roots. She was literally made out of the roots of the rosebushes, and I just loved it. This would be a good observation activity for children, but this book would not be ideal for small children as some of the objects the reader searches for are very small.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neat, neat, neat! The I spy book only with fairy tales. The I spy books are always a tremendous hit but this will fly off the shelf. I should have ordered two for the library. Or more. I want to bring this home myself and try to spy things from the rooms of Goldilocks and Cinderella and Puss in Boots and The Little Mermaid with my son. Of course, I will go blind even with my reading glasses and find nothing while he finds everything with his keen 9 year old eyes, ah well. Great fun.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the titles in the hardest to solve of Wick's seek and find series. Rhyming text reads like a bulleted list of item to search for, this time without any picture clues to aid readers.

The collection of fairy tales represented is good and recreates a number of fan favorites. The ned page in which all the tales are pictured together is awesome!

An author's note follows the puzzles detailing the creative process and contributors to this title. Grades 3-5.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't have picked this book as an information book before reading our textbook. I loved that each page was placed in a different traditional fairy tale story, and the reader had to find various components as in an "eye spy" book. It was also interesting that the author set up each picture by hand, and then photographed the scene he created.

[Whitney Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has tales of Christmas holiday season in a way that is fun and interactive for students in your classroom. Students are able to look through puzzles, pictures, and play games within this book. This book shows the true spirit of Chirstmas and Santa Clause and openeing up students imagination and observations within the text.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best for kids ages 6 and up. Some may need help with finding some of the harder objects.
Early Literacy Skills: Vocabulary

Get your kids playing with this book that take them into a fun and fanciful land to find hidden objects. Expand your kids vocabulary and critical thinking with this great addition to the Can You See What I See? series.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun and wonderful poetry. Thoroughly enjoyed the fairytale theme used to create the complex illustrations.

This book brought out the inner child, I lost track of the time finding all the little things.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book by one of the creators of the famous I Spy books, it is fairly easy to find the things listed in the rhymes in the photographs. Unlike the I Spy books there are no extra rhymes in the back of the book. The photographs are very cute.

[Mindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lexi and I love this book and can work on it together for hours.

[Janis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the pictures and of course the fun of finding the hidden objects. My kids love these books!

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was able to attend an art exhibit today at BYU where the work of Walter Wick was featured. It was so amazing!

[Samantha Penrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has gorgeous illustrations and was actually quite challenging.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family just loves these books. My husband and I even fight over who gets to sit and find the items. We have loved every single one of the "Can you see what I See?" series.

[Kristen Sewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a normal book to read to the class, but it helps the kids practice the use of their cognitive skills in their own.

[Betty Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this for my daughter's bookshelf. She will love it when she is old enough. Couldn't resist going through and finding objects myself. Found this one to be easier than others.

[Brielle Bogenschutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO FUN! I love that the author included all the classic fairy tales and put them into one book. So cute and such a fun interactive book to read with children!

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very much and I loved the imagery! This book is really good for children and it helps to be interactive in a way.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

love

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

very nice and detailed pictures