I Spy Little Wheels

I Spy Board Books

by Jean Marzollo, Walter Wick (Photographer)

The brightly colored photographs and simple rhymes of the I Spy books have a perennial appeal, as does the straightforward task they put before the see objects clearly on the left-hand page and pick them out from the complicated jumble on the right-hand page. The degree of difficulty varies widely from book to book, and this example from the board-book series is one of the very simplest, using for its images small areas of detail from the more complex photographs in books like I Spy Gold Challenger . Here, a 3-year-old is likely to go through the book in minutes, seeing all the answers very quickly. Some of the later pages up the ante slightly, for example when a cat, shown in full on the left, is almost completely hidden on the right. This simple interactive board-book is a good choice for the I Spy beginner. (Baby to 3 years) --Richard Farr

Genres: Childrens, Transport, Picture Books

Board Book

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Jean Marzollo was an American children's author and illustrator best known for the I Spy series, a best-selling and award-winning collection written entirely in rhythm and rhyme and illustrated by Walter Wick. Over her career, she wrote more than 100 books for children, parents, and educators, including Help Me Learn Numbers 0-20, The Little Plant Doctor, and Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King. Born and raised in Connecticut, she graduated from the University of Connecticut and earned a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She taught high school English and later worked in educational publishing, serving for 20 years as editor of Scholastic’s Let’s Find Out Magazine. Later in life, she began illustrating her own books.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Spy Little Wheels (I Spy Board Books) by Jean Marzollo– I read the first one sitting in the floor of the Wake Forest Elementary School Library with such glee that Mrs. Burns started saving the new ones for me. I got to check them all out first until I graduated from 5th grade. This series is still such a happy memory that I know your little reader will love the lush illustrations too! Happy Reading!

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spy with my little eye....

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "I Spy" board book series is best during the non-story phase of reading aloud, when children require more back-and-forth interaction. On each left page is a rhyming verse describing a few toy objects, and on the right those objects are hidden within a scene constructed of other toys. The photography is good, and the use of toys instead of real-life scenes demonstrates for young children how certain toys can to be best enjoyed. Like wordless books, this genre contains a visual scene meant to be cooperatively interacted with; unlike wordless books, there is enough text that the adult does not have to come up with original commentary.

This volume may be better for boys than girls; it consists of hot-wheels type cars in scenes made of wooden blocks, toy trains with tracks, toy construction vehicles, and a few other toys.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This board book is PERFECT for my 3 year old! He likes to look at books and is a little rough on them yet, so the board book is just right for him. Every page of this book has 2-3 items the readers have to spy in the pictures. This is a perfect fit for toddlers & beginning readers. I've requested a bunch more from our library after seeing this one.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The iSpy "Little" series is great for kids who still need to hold a board book in order to turn the page and who need less intense/large scale pictures. These images are actually cropped-in versions from the bigger iSpy series which is so nice because when the kids graduate up to the bigger books they will notice certain sections on some pages are from their "little" books.

[Sarah Coggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun little board book. My 19mo son loves to look at it and could find the cat on his own by age 16mo. We keep it in the car. It's great when he & I travel alone. I have memorized several of the objects (listed & not) and will call out what to look for. It keeps him happy & busy for the ride.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A board book seek and find that works more to build vocabulary using familiar objects and various forms of transportation as opposed to presenting a real challenge as the picture books series does. Great for sharing with toddlers.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A board book in the "I Spy" series that makes it easy for the younger kids to find the items. Short and fun for the younger ones.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just right for my 2yob who is fascinated by anything with wheels. His favorite word: Cah! (meaning car) (he also says "Choo choo!" and "room room")

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My boy enjoys this book. Probably helps that there are lots of cars in this one. =)

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was beloved by the child who likes this sort of thing. I'm glad there are lots of them.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

My two year old really loves this entire series. A fantastic book!