Look Book

by Tana Hoban

Tana Hoban never ceases to mesmerize and stimulate her young admirers. Using her unmistakable full-color photographs and an intriguing die-cut format, she has created a striking concept book that will have young viewers scrutinizing and thinking about what they see -- and don't see. In the tradition of Just Look and Take Another Look, here is yet another window of discovery to our everyday world.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adults will probably recognize the images pretty quickly, but little kids are going to love the "reveals".

Library copy

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Look Book is purely a book for observation. The first page is all black, with a circle-shaped hole cut in the middle, allowing the a small part of a photo on the next page to show through. The circular cut-out functions as a focal point, forcing the reader to look at a small area of detail, but without showing the reader what she is looking at specifically. Only when she turns the page does the reader understand what the subject of the image is.
This is a great book for critical thinking, observation, and inference. There are no words, only photographs. It's a fun way to explore the visual world, and to learn to notice details that would otherwise be overlooked.
It would be a good book for science class, as practice in observation and hypothesis to prepare for experiments following the scientific method. Plus (except for a photo of soft pretzels) they are all nature images of plants and animals.
The photos are not all the best, but they are good for the most part. The resolution is good. What I like best are the cut-outs that allow you to see from one page to the other. It's a neat trick that allows for some great and creative page turns, like those in "Green".

[Andrew Stockle · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Look Book” is a wordless picture book which allows the reader to take a guess about what they are viewing. For example, the first page shows only a circle cut-out where you can see a piece of the next page, the reader then turns the page and figured out that they were looking at a sunflower. The rest of the book follows this same format. The pictures in this book are real life photographs of everyday things, it is a pretty simple book, it is wide to encapsulate large pictures with scenery. This book would be best used to teach children about certain plants and animals in the world, while also seeing what objects they already recognize. In addition, I could use this book to teach that things are not always as they appear, if a person steps back and looks at the whole picture, it can provide clarity.

[Kaylee Mercer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Look Book is a unique and cool book! It is a wordless, picture book. On each page, you are only shown a portion of each animal, vegetable, etc. Then as you flip each page, the full image appears with an example of where you might see this item in everyday life. This book is awesome and could be used in a science unit. It could also be used to help struggling readers as well as ESL. I recommend this book!

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved guessing what was going to be in the circle! Easily kept my interest, and I think kids would love it.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading Rainbow: Nosey Mrs. Rat

We ended up "buying" this book from the library because our cat chewed on the binding! DOH!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably best as a lap read. It worked in Bunny Hop, but one on one each child would have more time to look at the pictures.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wordless book allows children to guess what's on the next page through a peephole. And then you get to see what it is! Great conversation starter and imagination spurrer.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

very simple. no words. includes two pictures of each thing we are looking at in detail. circle cut outs every other page.

[Kathy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read this book to my day care kids. They get so excited about quessing what the pictures are. Love Tana Hoban's Look Books.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look Book
Hoban, Tana
look forces the reader to look a a portion of a picture removing the context forcing recognition of colors and shapes

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children LOVE guessing what's on the next page from the clue given by a circular hole cut in every other page. I've used this book many times and it's always a hit.

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look book is a wordless book that contains black pages with peak holds for the reader to guess what the following picture may reveal. All the images are real photographs of all kinds of things our world contains, like sunflowers, cabbage, a herd of pigeons, the cutest puppy, soft pretzels, and even a giant hippopotamus. The best of the book is the peak holes that encourage young readers to guess and discuss what the following picture might be. I loved the addition of the black pages because it is rare to see full-page black pages. It also turned a simple image book into something interactive.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic, it causes lots of discussion around the pictures. My neighbors (4 and 2) loved it. I am looking for more.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice anticipatory cut-out book.

[Bree DeLaMare]

The "Look Book" should be in every classroom! I used this story to teach prediction to my Kindergarten students, and they absolutely loved it. Though I used it in Kindergarten, all students would be engaged by this story as they get to make guesses and predictions about what lies behind the circle.