I Spy School Days: A Book of Picture Riddles

I Spy

by Walter Wick (Photographer), Jean Marzollo

Can you find letters, blocks, dominoes, kickballs, and more? What's hidden on the desk or the blackboard? And what do you see in the schoolyard?

The I Spy classics are back with fresh new designs and bonus riddles!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, School, Nonfiction, Art, Back To School, Kids

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

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

[Sophia Triad · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best " I Spy" books. Children love it.

[Bryan H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book! My favorite part is the Rube Goldberg Contraption! If I could, I would SO try it out. It's too bad I don't have building blocks are a small chair or a small hand or anything like that. I also like the compare and contrast random objects, the small town, and the Valentine's Day page.

[Kayla Zabcia]

If you're like me and hate the ambiguity of the extra credit riddles, I'm including some hints.

For "Find the Picture That Go with These Riddles" in order of the riddles:
1.) pages 26-27
2.) pages 28-29
3.) pages 32-33
4.) pages 20-21
5.) pages 14-15
6.) pages 18-19
7.) pages 12-13
8.) pages 30-31
9.) pages 10-11
10.) pages 16-17
11.) pages 8-9
12.) pages 24-25
13.) pages 22-23

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of seek-n-find pages with school-related collages.

I read this book with my 7 year old niece. It took us about 45 minutes to get through the whole thing and there were a couple pages we just had to skip something because we'd been on the page forever and neither of us could find one item. So definitely not easy. This is a new edition of this book with some new pages and new challenges in the back (it was updated 2021) which explains why I didn't remember all the pages.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a classic! I love the chalkboard page with all the hidden funny things like the shark. I also love the Rout Goldberg machine with the dominoes and the tally chalkboard. The Valentine page is so adorable! And of course I love the numbers page.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably my favorite I Spy book. I love it so much. I especially love the balloon popper machine. There’s a video of it in action on YouTube—it’s fantastic!

[Debby Deshazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

i cant find a thing on it........ WOW I FOUND SOMETHIGN

[Patricia Kaniasty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved these books. This one is no exception.

[Timothy Morrison]

One just enjoys looking for the clues here

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of these spreads are really boring for I Spy.

[J.B. Mathias · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are still fun and i love the pictures. It's cool seeing little objects from the time this was made.

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't knock the I spy books - they are a great way to introduce books to babies. My son never tore a book and we started him with these before he could crawl. He would eat a board book - but read an I Spy book. My students love these and often check them out - the older children will check them out along side a thick Harry Potter or Inkheart. I encourage students to choose a book that challenges them to become better readers and a lighter book that they can get lost in and relax.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Spy School Days by Jean Marzollo is another of the early books in the series. Harriet has been reading the simplified version, I Spy School Bus and has now upgraded to the full version.

She isn't reading the book but she prefers the harder picture riddles. She has a very good eye for finding things, often finding them before Sean or I do.

My favorite I Spy Books have a hint of a plot to them and their photographs are tightly themed. School Days fits this bill perfectly, being about a day in school. The photographs are beautiful and sometimes deceptively simplistic.

There is a playground scene near the end of the book that at first glance is nothing but a piece of playground with a forgotten four-square ball. It takes a second and third look to see all the goodies hidden in plain view. I Spy School Days and I Spy Spooky Night are my

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten that an I SPY series book would truly be classified as a nonfiction picture book. Of course the picture book section is obvious, but the nonfiction part was not. The articles to be found in the I Spy are true to life and therefore it is classified nonfiction. The fact that the items are real, true to life - only captures the attention of the reader further. I Spy is a great book to use for building concentration skills and sorting skills. They are an endless about of pleasure for young readers. A sense of accomplishment for the reader is quickly received when the articles is found,...even if the reader does not find all of the articles! Gret books!

[Ms. Biesecker]

Category: Participation books
Author: Jean Marzollo
Illustrator: Walter wick
Title: I Spy School Days: A Book of Picture Riddles
Publication date: 1995
Brief annotation: Intricate photographs are paired with riddles in which readers must locate the hidden objects.
Themes: problem solving, riddles, photographs, classroom
Ways to use the book with children: Examining objects commonly found in the classroom, working on problem-solving skills

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

My toddler is a visual learner and loves all of the I Spy books. She always has one or two checked out from the library. They have been great vocabulary builders for her because there are so many items in the pictures that I would not otherwise think to show her. I do not usually read the text to her. We enjoy talking about what she sees, or I will randomly choose things to tell her I spy, and she looks for them. Sometimes, we will look for the items listed in the text together.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have four children and we own each " I spy " book. These books are truly our favorite and they are not just for the young. Each picture makes them think, explore, and problem solve all on their own in a very different way. Ethan had cancer as a kid and these books are amongst the things that got us through the series of hospitalizations over 18 months.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very fun to look at and would be great to use in many different areas of school. There is a page with letters and this would be great to use with kindergarteners to reinforce the letters of the alphabet.

[Anna Hardesty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved these books whenever I was in Elementary school.
It kept me busy and made me use my noggin.

So if you're trying to work and your kids on getting on your nerves, plop them on the couch with one of these. =D

[Megan Rowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Spy is a book used for many things. It could be used for a critical thinking lesson. It could be used to teach word meanings. You could incorporate math or social studies with this book. Children will be very engaged with this book, which will enhance the lesson.

[Jimmy Potkanowicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book to read on the first day of school. It's a great riddle book and can have students interacting. I would recommend this book to younger students (Kindergarten) to get them to interact and think about the rhyming words.

[Roberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this kinds of books!!!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice with bright pictures.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katherine was never too interested in this book.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book of cleverly photographed books where you try to find the items listed. Often our girls find it too hard to find all the items listed, so we just talk about what we see.

[Colin S · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was younger I would look at this book so many times. I would just sit down with it and not stop untill I found where all the objects were.

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

children love checking these out to search for pictures, its funny how many said they practiced their reading stills reading the words.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

An absolute favorite since I was young! Clever and creative rhymes that make the riddles flow!

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a bit of an obsession with I Spy while growing up.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of seek and find puzzles for school-agers with rhyming text and bonus challenges.

This title is school-themed complete with numbers, letters, and plenty of kid-inspired art projects.