Can You See What I See?: Once Upon a Time: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve [Hardcover]

Walter Wick (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up | Series: Can You See What I See?

Photographic search-and-find fun--especially for preschoolers! From bestselling author/photographer Walter Wick.

From the photographer of the bestselling I Spy books, Can You See What I See? Once Upon a Time is a rhyming, search-and-find picture book--especially for preschoolers! Twelve fascinating compositions depict favorite fairy tales, folk tales, and classic stories where readers can use the picture clues to search for dozens of intriguing hidden objects in a far, faraway land filled with toys!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4—Wick continues the successful formula used in Can You See What I See?: Dream Machine (Scholastic, 2003), this time tackling fairy tales. Each of the 12 spreads depicts a dramatic moment from a particular tale, accompanied by a rhyming sidebar that tells children what to search for and gives a plot element or two from the story. The rhyme for "Steadfast Tin Soldier" concludes with "a steadfast soldier,/standing so smart,/and a lovely dancer/who's stolen his heart." Each scene is crammed with delightful details that will be a pleasure to examine while hunting for the specified items. A few of the tableaux are a little on the dark side, but individual elements are sharp and clear. An author's note explains how the pictures were created.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The most familiar fairy-tales' worlds are the settings in Wick's latest seek-and-find book. As in previous titles in the Can You See series, each meticulously constructed, double-page spread features a crisp photo (here the images have been digitally manipulated) of a scene filled with miniatures, and the accompanying, rhyming text offers a list of objects to search for in the picture. The fairy tales will be instantly recognizable in scenes of the Three Bears and their cottage, Puss and Boots on the road, Cinderella on the palace steps, and so on. Children will delight in poring over the images, finding new things to look at even after the text's game becomes too familiar. A final scene, which mixes the characters into one chaotic world, breaks down boundaries by featuring some of the artist's tools in the picture's corner. Like others in the series, this should offer lots of interactive fun. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Cartwheel Books; First edition. edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439617774
• ISBN-13: 978-0439617772
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 10.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Children's Books > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Anthologies
  • #63 in Books > Children's Books > Sports & Games > Games

More About the Author

When I was young I was a reluctant reader. It was hard for me to sit still and read a book. I preferred activities that got me moving, like neighborhood ball games, bike riding, skiing, sledding, skating, climbing trees, and exploring the woods in Connecticut where I grew up.

I taught also myself to draw. I became fascinated with shapes, shading, and trying to make the objects in my drawings appear to pop out in 3-D. Later I became interested in photography. I took pictures in the woods with my camera, tinkered with equipment in the darkroom, and experimented with artistic effects.

Much later I became the photographer of the I SPY books, in collaboration with writer Jean Marzollo. I did more than take the pictures. I thought of ideas, sketched ideas, collected props, made props, built sets, arranged objects, hid objects, adjusted lights, and took a picture. Then I rearranged objects and took another picture -- sometimes over and over again.

I write as well as illustrate my own books now. In A DROP OF WATER, I combine simple text with clear photographs to explain science secrets of the everyday world. In WALTER WICK'S OPTICAL TRICKS, the everyday world is turned upside down with impossible objects, phantom images, and other perplexing illusions. With the CAN YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? series, I continue the picture-puzzle tradition, taking readers on ever more amazing adventures of the imagination in their quest for hidden objects.

Happy reading!

Walter Wick

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another wonderful Walter Wick creation!!, January 19, 2007

By 

Cynthia A. Denny (Muncie, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Can You See What I See?: Once Upon a Time: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve (Hardcover)

Whether you choose to go with his 'I Spy' collection or this 'Can You See What I See' collection (or both!), you simply can not go wrong!! I have yet to see anyone (from my three year old niece to my 73 year old father!) not become engrossed in Walter Wick's works. We currently have ALL of the two collections, and I continue to buy more as gifts! Simply wonderful books for quality time with the kids, or quiet time for the adults as the children devour the beautiful pages on their own.

*Just a note--if your kids are 'pre-readers' they will need help with knowing what to look for--but you can give them three or four items at a time and then sit back and read something else for yourself! So, these books help with their learning to read, their observational skills, AND their memory skills--lol--not to mention YOUR memory skills when they ask, 'what was the third thing you said to look for?' Oops.... :-) 'Uh, let mommy see the page one more time..... lol....'

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My children's all-time favorite books, January 18, 2007

By 

J. Albert (Novato, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Can You See What I See?: Once Upon a Time: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve (Hardcover)

If you want to spend some quiet time with your children at the end of the day, you can't go wrong here. The idea is to search for hidden items in each picture. The depth of detail in each scene is just amazing, and the pictures themselves are fascinating in their own right. There are plenty of easy finds to amuse a toddler, yet a wealth of subtle puzzles to challenge the older kids and adults. You have to see them to appreciate the rich detail that goes into each page. You can search for hidden items from the list on each page, or better yet, explore the pictures yourselves to find much more. Take turns and challenge each other.

We have all the "Can You See..." and "I Spy" books (also photographed by Walter Wick). These classic books never grow old, we find yet more hidden details each time we open them. Definitely keepers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, February 14, 2010

By 

Sylvia Gutierrez "Latina" (San Antonio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Can You See What I See?: Once Upon a Time: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve (Hardcover)

I bought this book because we had originally bought "Can you see what I see on a scary scary night?" from Scholastic at her preschool. My daughter is 5 and absolutely loves this series! We do one every night and we both love looking for the items! It's loads of fun! I highly recommend it!