Customer Reviews

Look-Alikes Christmas: The More You Look, the More You See!

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

My kids (4 and 2) both love trying to find objects in the pictures - we make fun games out of looking for certain things and it's also been a great way to teach them the names of obscure items you don't find in everyday life...

This book is very clever, the artist uses various objects in a 3D collage to create several Christmastime scenes: Winter Wonderland, The Nutcracker, Santa's Workshop, Grandma's Kitchen, Christmas Windows, Cathedral, Dollhouse, Toy Train, New Year's Eve. Be warned, however, that the objects themselves are not necessarily "Christmas-like"- In the very first scene, a winter landscape, a large Halloween Skeleton is used to create the mountains-- complete with creepy-looking skull, missing teeth, etc. This is something that can be very frightening to small children and you might want to take into consideration before purchasing this book.

My family has owned and LOVED the first book for 4 years now.Our sons (now ages 10 and 8 years) still look at the first book and beg us to play what our family calls "The wacky game"(one person is "IT" and spots something on a page in the book while everyone else has their backs turned , and the challenge is on).When I saw this second book I thought it would be the perfect family Christmas Eve present.Boy was I WRONG!Our whole family was so dissapointed at how unchallenging the pictures where put together.We've look at it for a total of 15 mins and it's sat on the book shelf ever since.
I must say that we STILL enjoy the first book and it's always under one of the boys's pillows.

For those unfamiliar with the Look-Alikes series, creator Joan Steiner makes fascinating scenes using everyday objects--many cleverly hidden! Some people think Look-Alikes involve trick photography, but Steiner assures readers this is not the case. Most of her sets measure four to five feet across, in fact! The painstaking process of the perfectionistic Steiner often takes years. She admits that it took her THREE and a HALF YEARS to complete Look-Alikes Christmas! WOW...that's dedication!

I'm totally intrigued by the Look-Alikes books (we have two), and LOVE trying to spot all of the elements. Look-Alikes are similar to the I SPY books, but don't have the riddles. And, the items aren't so much "concealed" as they are so seemlessly integrated that you don't realize (at first!) what you're looking at! For example, in the Nutcracker scene, one look at Uncle Drosselmeyer's outfit and nothing really stands out. However, upon closer inspection, you realize that the flowing orange lining to his black cape is actually a Dorito!

There are ten lavish sets in the book, each spanning two pages:

*Winter Wonderland - A snowy outdoor scene (The skeleton draped in a bra is bizarre and a poor choice for this scene.)

*The Nutcracker - Dolls come alive in this indoor scene. Look closely--the curtains are made of hair!

*Santa's Workshop - What looks to be a fake nose serves as Mrs. Claus's cap, while orange Circus Peanuts double as elf shoes!

*Grandma's Kitchen - It's obvious that Grandma's apron is a dollar bill, but did you notice that the "spoon" the granchild is using to lick the batter out of the bowl is, in fact, a Q-tip?

*Christmas Windows - Shoppers stroll outdoors, gazing at delightful holiday windows. Women's purses are made up of a lock, a fig newton, a postage stamp, and a packet of pepper. How cool is that?!

*Cathedral - Jellybeans and suckers double as stained glass windows, while vertical bullets (?!) stand in the center of the church.

*Dollhouse - Dental floss as a water closet, a loofah sponge as a hamper, a wooden switch plate as a table top, and a jar of nailpolish as a lamp bottom.

*Toy Train - A loaf of bread does time as a tunnel, while dry spiral pasta makes a neat bow for a present under the tree.

*New year's Eve - A skyscraper made out of a computer keyboard, radiator, and crossword puzzle makes a great background for a bright celebration.

If you love the I SPY or Where's Waldo? books, you'll love the Look-Alikes books by Joan Steiner. I'm partial to the Christmas one, I think, because it was the first one I bought! My 8 year old, a train buff, likes the original because guess what's on the cover? Yep, a train!

We love this book because it's fun not only for children, but for adults too! It's a great way to get your children to pay attention to details (and a lot of them!). I'd definitely recommend it!

I LOVE love love this new edition of Look-Alikes. It's absolutely perfect for the holiday season. The pages are so full of fun objects. Some of the objects are so interesting (including the bra and the skeleton). While you may think those objects are too adult for children, I think that's because we look at them as an adult. Children look at a bra and it's just a garment. So I didn't have a particular problem with that. I would absolutely recommend this series for some interactive fun with your child!

Creative book. HOWEVER. If you want your four year old to be able to identify a decomposed body draped in a woman's lace bra and black lace garter belts along with bullets depicting a church scene, this is the book for you! I thought it was rediculous.

This book, along with Steiner's two others, is absolutely enchanting. Steiner has the most original creative eye I have ever encountered. She combines the simplest everyday objects into fantastic scenes. I'm a 54 year old professional and can't put the books down. On every page I am surprised and amused. I love to try to figure out what each thing is made of and how Steiner knew to use just that. Imagine knowing that a bra would be perfect to represent snow on a mountain top! Steiner has an incredible imagination. Children love these books and Adults do too. Joan Steiner is a genius! You will LOVE this and her other books!
Babette Rothschild, MSW, author, The Body Remembers.

I had every intention of buying this book for my [...] daughter. BUT when I saw the first page with the "see inside" feature, I was taken aback at the skull and bra. As an opening page??? Not for my young daughter. I'm disappointed, because I like Joan Steiner's books. I would buy it if those two elements were gone.

This book is unbelievably creative. My daughters, ages 6-10, pour over the pages for hours each year at Christmas time. I have no idea why the 1-star reviewers are so concerned about a bra being used in the opening scene. It's an inanimate object, people! If it were a seductive woman wearing a bra, yes - I too would be highly concerned. But it's an image of snow capped mountains in the distance that are actually made out of a bra. Seriously, the author's creations are ingenious. Don't miss out! (And don't be swayed by the bad reviews!)