Eye Spy by Ruth Brown

Eye Spy by Ruth Brown. Scallywag Press, c2022, 2023. 9781912650903






Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4



Format: Hardcover picture book



What did you like about the book?  This look-and-find bedtime book features lovely watercolor illustrations and a gentle singsong riddle format that encourages children to look closely at the natural word. Using an “I spy” structure, we walk through a lush, green woodland, and try to spot the creatures that blend in (more or less successfully, depending on the animal) to the scenery. A field of poppies hides a little mouse, who dangles from a stem while a lumpy toad is almost completely indistinguishable from a muddy, rocky river bank. If you can’t find them, just turn the page and a bright round circle brings us up close to the hidden animal. Sometimes the camouflage is so successful that readers will be turning the page back-and-forth to zoom in on just the right spot. The rhyming riddle will create a sense of anticipation as young readers catch on to the answer and then search for the animal.  Brown’s naturalistic and graceful watercolors show a fascinating and secret world that children will enjoy studying closely. Although her scenes are devoid of fairies, they recall Arthur Rackham’s evocative and slightly mysterious magical scenes.



Anything you didn’t like about it? It’s a British import; U.S. readers may have difficulty naming the animal that “flies away home when its house is on fire” and rhymes with “heard”: “ladybird” (for ladybug).



To whom would you recommend this book?  Fans of books with lush woodland illustrations should enjoy this peaceful bedtime story, with opportunities for adult-child interaction. Read alikes include In the Woods by David Elliott with illustrations by Rob Dunlavey or nature and animal books by the renowned Jim Arnosky.



Who should buy this book? Public libraries



Where would you shelve it? Picture books



Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No



Reviewer: Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School, Boston, MA



Date of review: July 1, 2023