Can You See What I See? Dream Machine [Hardcover]

Walter Wick (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Can You See What I See?

Cool robots, far-out cityscapes, and lots of search-and-find surprises--now with a new foil cover!

This search-and-find adventure is full of fun and surprises. The story begins in a child's bedroom where Seymour, a tiny bead man, uses a yo-yo string to slide down from the top of a night table to the floor, where he finds himself a smart sports car. Seymour takes off beyond the blocks and into a magical world of flying cars, robots, and a time machine!

Children are invited to find hidden objects in the twelve photographs that tell the story of Seymour's magical nighttime exploration.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Inspired by the artistic imaginings of children, Walter Wick has made a career of setting up and photographing elaborate miniature sets crammed with gazillions of gewgaws--yo-yos, buttons, plastic sheep, hot dog buns, playing cards, spoons, funnels, domino tiles, teapot spouts--in the I Spy series (with Jean Marzollo) and his bestselling Can You See What I See? Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve. Dream Machine continues this tradition with a space-age twist. The first two-page spread, "Bedtime," is a grownup-eyed view of a child’s darkened bedroom, with the accompanying text: "Can you see/ what I see?/ Five cards, a bike,/ three soccer balls,/ a spotted owl,/ striped overalls,/ an elephant,/ a dog asleep,/ a dinosaur tail,/ seven white sheep,/ a yo-yo, a boat,/ a can, a jar,/ a lightning bolt/ on a little red car!" In subsequent spreads the camera lens zooms in to focus on the tiny worlds within worlds under the child's chair. Clutter gives way to order as the reader is asked to join Wick in his nighttime dreamscape. The possibilities are endless for sharp-eyed children who choose to go beyond the "search and solve" puzzles. Hours of fun await! (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5-Wick has done it again with this multilayered puzzle fantasy. The small red, yellow, and blue bead figure that was spotted in the first Can You See What I See? (Scholastic, 2002) is back in a sporty red roadster with a lightning bolt blazed on the hood. Each of the 12 riddle/photo combinations moves further into the scene that begins and ends in a toy-strewn bedroom and explores the nooks and crannies of the cities and worlds set up for make-believe. The bead-person and his car are seen zooming through the cardboard streets, past "a girl with a bow,/a hand in a pocket,/a spoon on a plate,/a man in a rocket," and many other fantastic and everyday items, as readers are drawn into the dream and find the objects named in the text. As in his previous books, Wick uses homonyms and visual tricks, giving children more to see and look for than what may appear at first glance. Careful observers, startled out of the dream world at the end by a robot alarm clock, would do well to heed the advice of the beaded-letter bracelet in a bowl that urges them to "SEYMOUR." A wonderful addition to any collection.
Genevieve Gallagher, Orange County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Cartwheel; F edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439399505
• ISBN-13: 978-0439399500
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 10.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Photography

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

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Book, May 23, 2008

By 

Thomas Anderson "tfanders" (South Bend, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Can You See What I See? Dream Machine (Hardcover)

I disagree with the reviewer who suggests that the pictures in this book are too dark, and that this title in the Can You See What I See ? series is not good for the 2-6 age group. My five-year-old son is absolutely enthralled with the amazingly creative, futuristic cityscapes. I think this is Walter Wick's best creation to date. Just look at the intricate details that he has put into the buildings, all of which were made by hand from cardboard boxes and other easy-to-find materials. Wick's books are not just about finding hidden objects. They are also about learning how to appreciate the value of everyday stuff -- like the things we all throw away or have stashed away in our junk drawers and never think about. In this, and all of his books for that matter, Wick inspires the imagination in countless ways, as all good authors of children's books should. In addition to searching for the lost items in these magical pages, my son has spent countless hours trying to create his own cityscapes out of cereal boxes, soap boxes, and every other kind of box one would care to imagine. THIS BOOK IS EXTRAORDINARY!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great for all...2 Yr olds, parents, and those vehicle obsessed, March 3, 2009

By 

shopper8424 "shopper8424" (los angeles, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Can You See What I See? Dream Machine (Hardcover)

I fully agree with the previous 5star reviews. To add to it I want to say that my son is not yet 2 1/2, and he's of average intelligence, and he can spend a TON of time staring at this book. we read it together before naps and he can easily spend 20 minutes concentrating on the pages. And then he will also choose to read the book on his own, quietly studying all the details. I find that amazing. There are so many levels to this book, as mentioned by others, and so It's also very fun for me to look at while we are reading it together (unlike some toddler books). I also get great ideas for projects for us to do together as you will understand if you get this book. Also, you can do more than just what the book asks for, go ahead and ask the toddler to find an easier or more exciting object along with a few off the list. We don't find the whole list on each page, we slowly do 1-2 (plus some added ones) until he chooses to turn the page...I think otherwise it might bore a child as young as him. And lastly, I want to mention that what initially captivated him was all of the vehicles. My son loves vehicles, and there are many on most pages, with quite a few "city" scenes. Good to know if you have a vehicle obsesses child. Love It!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can not recommend this highly enough, April 24, 2009

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Can You See What I See? Dream Machine (Hardcover)

Our family has... wildly divergent interests. As is true for most families, I am sure.

And yet, every one of us loves picking up this book. It is fascinating, mesmerizing, and entertaining. The 4-year-old puzzle addict is a whiz at finding the clues. The early reader loves to read it out loud. The homeschool-parent-wannabe in me loves the book's universality. Everybody loves how quiet the kids become when they look at this book. Big kids, little kids, kids over 30, kids over 60, we can cooperate to solve the riddles. Teenaged babysitters admit that it's cool. Mr. Big Shot grade school inventor tries recreating some of the layouts on a small scale (we have a high tolerance threshold for blocks, train tracks, and marble runs). I love the "story" inside the book -- each page is a puzzle to solve, and then the little car progresses through the page to the next, and you go deeper and deeper into the dream city. It is remarkable. Dads, Grandpas, _everybody_ gets engaged in this simple, lovable book.

Walter Wick, you are a genius and my family thanks you.`