I Spy: 10th Anniversary Edition

I spy... a little baby's footprint, a heart-shaped box, a silver jack, a train track, a comb, a button, a pine cone... and hundreds upon hundreds of other small, interesting objects. Here is the original I Spy picture book, the one that launched the very popular series by rhyme-ster Jean Marzollo and photographer Walter Wick. Each sizeable two-page spread features an assortment of crisply photographed items, along with a rhyming litany that serves as a riddle for readers to solve:

I spy a snake, a three-letter word,
And flying underneath, a great white bird;
Nine gold stars, a blue tube of glitter,
One clay cat, and a six-legged critter.

The beauty of these books, which include I Spy Funhouse and I Spy Gold Challenger, is that when the initial riddle is solved, there are still extra credit riddles in the back, as well as countless other games of varying degrees of difficulty any imaginative parent or child can create. Readers of all ages, distracted by the bright, eye-catching objects, may find the challenge surprisingly difficult, and will delight in finding something new with every reading. (Ages 3 to 7) --Emilie Coulter