Look-Alikes with CDROM

Look-Alikes

by Joan Steiner

Welcome to the land of look-alikes, where the more you look, the more you see! Artist Joan Steiner has used everything from acorns and broccoli to yardsticks and zippers to create this striking three-dimensional world. Stop in at the Sweet Shop and sit down on a chair built out of pretzels and crackers, or stroll through the park, where pennies are cobblestones and a shoehorn becomes a slide. With more than one thousand look-alikes to find, this book will have puzzlers of all ages poring over its pages or hours on end.Loaded with more than 1,000 hidden everyday objects, this award-winning book features a free IBM and Macintosh compatible CD-ROM screensaver and games. Simple verses challenge readers to identify the everyday objects used to construct 12 three-dimensional scenes in Lookalike Land.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction, Art, Photography

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every now and then I think of this book. It was my absolute favourite when I was young, and I could spend hours looking at the pictures with my mom figuring out what everything in the seemingly normal landscapes was made of. This just fills my heart with so much joy! Adding it on Goodreads so I can never forget the title and author.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS FREAKING AMAZING!!! I am so inspired by this book. I found this -- a "new" book in our pre-school Sunday School class. The idea of the book is that it is scenes made from objects -- but what you see is not what you get. The amazement is in figuring out the creative things every scene is made from. Trust me on this one, this is the kind of book that will fascinate the curious and creative. If you like the "I Spy" series, you'll love these. In a way though, I think this is better than "I Spy" because it doesn't require you to find anything -- you can just marvel at it. So it won't necessarily "get old" the way the "I Spy" books can (I guarantee it, every time you look at these you will find something new).

This kept several of my busiest just-5 year-olds busy for a LONG, LONG time.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy and fun book to read with a story told in rhymes. But this is not just a book of words. It is a book full of "magic" where the pictures/photographs play tricks on your eyes. Where ice cream cones become trashcans and pretzels are flowerbeds. Where the fence posts are really crayons and the chair cushion is just a cracker. This book contains photos of artistic genius for hours and hours of "looking" enjoyment.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE all Joan Steiner's books. They're non-verbal & really hone your attention to detail. I had fun watching adults and kids 'reading' the Christmas book. She uses so many amazing bits & pieces of real life things. Reindeer made with real wishbones & a peanut in the shell! Mountains made of white fluffy bras! This woman has an imagination that stimulates mine. My 3 year old granddaughter recognized her mom's black lipstick case in a stove pipe while I was insisted it was just a black flashlight. We were both right but it took me a few mintues to really see the lipstick. Steiner's books are a fun study.

[CE]

Haha. I checked this out not knowing if my four-year-old would like it. She keeps picking it up to show us what she can find. And we've all looked at it without her too. FYI, the book is a little dated. There are things in the pictures that I didn't point out to her, because she wouldn't know what they are and even things I can't identify. Also, their are cigarettes, lighters, matches, and tipped cigarillos occasionally -- I can't see those being used in PC 2020.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing; the creativity on display in the art design is off the charts. I'm bummed we didn't know about this when my brother was a kid, because he and I both would have enjoyed it. Even so, I have had it out of the library for 3 weeks now and have spent at least a couple of hours just marveling at the scenes she's created with ordinary household objects, food pantry staples, and various bits and bobs, transforming them into other items so entirely that it takes a minute to realize what you're really looking at. I still feel I've barely scratched the surface.

This really is fun for all ages -- the youngest kids can just enjoy the pictures, slightly older ones can enjoy identifying items they know and learning new words for the ones they don't (not unlike what makes Animalia so great), and EVERYONE -- as I've clearly demonstrated -- can get endless entertainment out of just going "how'd she do that??" or "wait -- is that a -- WHAT!"

I was having so much fun I almost forgot to read the text, but it's made of pleasant rhymes that give starting-point clues and actually supports the pictures very well. I also love that there's a detailed answer key at the back for each scene.

The only downside is that some of the dolls/figurines she uses to populate the scenes are a bit creepy-looking in a wax-museum way sometimes. Every time I open to the amusement park spread and see that child screaming in the roller coaster, I get the sense he's been frozen mid-torture...

But overall: purely amazing; I'm so thrilled there's an entire series of these books. Including, apparently, a couple of "junior" versions that I guess are specifically geared toward what younger kids might know.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book to use with toddlers who are very literal. Things that are one thing are used to stand in as other things. For example, a cheap plastic razor is put in the place of a vacuum cleaner in a thrift store. So a toddler would be able to identify many things (not all of them) as something other than what they represent.

[Vernon Area Public Library KIDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author creatively uses items from home to create artistic pages. Parents (and older children) can read the story, and kids can find the objects in each picture.

Reviewed by Deb Hersh, Library Operations - Circulation, Vernon Area Public Library

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing! Recommended for fans of "I Spy."

[Fabish Caruri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mes enfants sont ravis de lire ce livre. Belles images.

[Kelly Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun book to look through! My favorite look-a-like were the tulips that were actually pistachios.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have pored over these illustrations for hours as a kid, and they are still a feast for these grownup eyes.

[✿ reyna ✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

• a masterpiece, this is one of my favorite books ever! my sister and i enjoyed to search for the little objects. also incredible work from the author and photographer.

[Kristin Vandersluis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daughter LOVED this. Ready to check-out all the rest of this series from the library.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan Steiner's Look-Alikes series is a great resource in my preschool classroom. The children are drawn to it in the same way they love "I Spy" books (and games), but it offers the additional depth of helping children ask the question, "If I use my imagination, what ELSE could this object become?!" The books became a great reference and inspiration when helping kids do collage work with found materials. I try to have one or two books from the series in my classroom at any given time.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good 20 mins of seek and find fun - I don't know how the author/artist had the ability to create such details. You can even make up your own stories about the pictures and increase vocab by pointing out some really unusual objects and associating them with things they already know (that tower is made out of cookies or the ticket booth is part of a baby bottle).

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting pictures that obviously took a long time and a lot of creativity to make. The girls liked the pictures, but it didn't hold their interest for long. We didn't even try to find all the things in the pictures.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in the doctor's office while waiting to see if William had conjunctivitis. Its a very cool concept to look at how these made these realistic pictures out of other objects. However, it was not something the kids were ready for.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting concept book and I'm a little surprised that the concept is not too popular nor has the book lasted really at all. It's almost like an I-spy book, but you can identify the objects. Perhaps children just don't find it that interesting?

[Melissa]

April 2010

[Ed Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could be a puzzle book, an art book or a children's book.
Nothing but charm and whimsy.

It is such a rush to see the little things turn into something else.

[Robin Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I'm stuck on a scene or plot point, Joan Steiner's Look-Alike books help me get unstuck.

[Glen]

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

[Ratforcekids]

For some complex pictures try Look-Alikes by Joan Steiner. In the back of the book are some challenging searches for super sleuths.

[Cil]

Similiar to "I spy" books

[Carter and Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The boys loved looking at this book and picking out hidden objects. The text wasn't bad either, so it was a good change-up for storytime.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish I had multiple copies of this one. My class can't get enough of the look alike books.

[Adairis Bautista · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was in primary school everyone wanted to read it, but the writing is not why this book is amazing, THE PICTURES ARE JUST AMAZING!!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great picture book to look at all the creative details.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a birthday gift from Tove which I have spent a lot of quality time with over the years.