Look-Alikes Around the World

Look-Alikes

by Joan Steiner

Take an eye-opening trip around the world! Using everyday objects in ingenious ways, artist Joan Steiner has created three-dimensional scenes of more than 40 famous landmarks and familiar vacation locales ? from the shores of Cape Cod and chateaux across Europe to the Egyptian pyramids and the magestic Taj Mahal. Complete with photographs of the actual sites, fascinating facts, and more than 500 look-alikes to search for, this unique postcard album will challenge and captivate puzzlers of all ages.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Art, Photography

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book yesterday for .29. That alone gets half a star, proving once again that my star ratings are completely ridiculous. But this book prompted my youngest to stay up looking for all the common objects he could find in the pictures...an onion! A fork! Hahaha! A shoe castle (the front cover "Taj Mahal" picture)! He begged me this morning to take it to show everyone at his school and I relented. It was, after all, 29 cents.

When I volunteered in a primary school library last year, it was amazing to watch the kids choose books. Each student was allowed to check out two books if they had returned their previous selections. One of the two books had to be appropriate for their reading level so that they could finish it and take an Accelerated Reader "AR" quiz on it. The other selection was up to the student's preferences alone. I watched this requirement impact young children's selections, btw, and am not overly fond of the AR program as a result. After grabbing an appropriately stickered AR book, the younger children consistently used their free reading selection privileges on "I Spy" books. These children, especially young boys, were largely classified as beginning or pre-readers. I constantly re-shelved these large object-laden picture-ridden books and the smell of the lemony cleaning wipes used on them (each book was disinfected before going back on the shelves) lingered. There was, more often than not, a fight or lively discussion over who touched which "I Spy" book first. Since each child was given a paint-stir stick for place marking on the shelves, it was often difficult to intervene among the mob without hunkering down and flinching into the fray.

I imagine that this book would do very well with the same audience in a primary school library. It's large, full of clever pictures, and involves the same satisfaction for readers fond of recognition surprises. The book's re-creations of historical sites from around the globe might prompt students to look for non-fiction books about the lands or actual sites, moving beginning readers towards the history section and out of paint-stir stick gangs. An overview of each place is included at the end of the book, and while my youngest didn't read this (he is only now beginning to read sentences), I'm sure if the book does make it back home he'll ask us to help him read the descriptive paragraphs.

[Roxanne Hsu Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

We spent a couple of hours looking through and finding every single look-alike in the book, marveling often at the ingenuity of the artist. The photos of the real places around the world also add to the value of this title as an informative book. Definitely worthy for a library or home collection.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids love looking at this book and so do I. Each page is a postcard from a famous, international landmark. The postcards are fascinating because each one is created from common objects.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept a 2nd grade class engaged for 20 minutes and that was only for the first few pages. Need I say more?

[MollyRN · Rating 5 out of 5]

This women’s work is utterly amazing. I’ve just gone on line and ordered everything I can get my hands on. What a talent, what a loss. We need to keep this work alive through our children and Grandchildren.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book wow!

[Lorraine Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great picture book. This book is a great example of a photo narrative. It shows popular land marks around the word. It shows children how any common materials can be made into art which promotes creativity in children’s work. This book is a great picture book. This book is a great example of a photo narrative. It shows popular land marks around the word. It shows children how any common materials can be made into art which promotes creativity in children’s work. You can have the class create their own look-alikes of specific things they are learning and the class put together a photo narrative book.

[Charity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows models that are made from everyday things. It was amazing. The detailed work and the tricks your eyes play on you as you look at these miniatures is truly absorbing. I could happily spend a great deal of time looking through it.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent many enjoyable minutes staring at these photos trying to figure out what every day objects were used to create these iconic places. This book is very well designed and will appeal to all ages.

[Jean-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun look and find picture book. Worldwide landmarks are recreated with everyday items. My only complaint is that I wish I didn't have to turn to the back of the book for more information about the landmark or the look-alike items. It makes it hard to read/share the book with kids.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 5year old is a fan of this book series. While I would have preferred a bit more facts in a book involving famous places around the world, my kid likes finding the everyday items that are hidden in each photograph in the book. A fun book for fans of puzzles and hidden objects.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fun! I think I might be booktalking this at WLA. (It's very Where's Waldo-esque.)

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book that kids will read and reread--examining each elaborate tableau to find every day items. Readers pick up knowledge of history, geography, and architecture along the way.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids and I spent a long time enjoying the clever postcards!

[Glen]

These are great! You can spend lots of time seeing what is used to create these detailed images...