Sonderbooks Book Review of Can You See What I See? Dream Machine

Reviewed November 4, 2003.
Scholastic, New York, 2003. 36 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (J 793.73 WIC).

Here’s another amazing book by the photographer of the I Spy books. The idea is the same—finding small objects in amazingly detailed photographs. I like this book even better than the earlier books, because in this book the pictures tell a story.

We follow a little toy man. The first picture is a wide view of a small child’s bedroom at night. I just now noticed that the little toy man is about to use a yo-yo string to get into a toy car at the bottom of the bedside table. (In the next page, the yo-yo string is hanging.)

The next picture closes in further. The little man drives through the gateway into a toy world. The pictures lead us further and further into the scene. At one point, the little man changes his car into a spaceship. They go on and on until finally he’s transported through a magic view screen back to the child’s bedroom, where it’s time to wake up.

All of that story is completely told without words. You can also enjoy the book simply as in the old I Spy books, looking for items in the amazing pictures of toys and household objects turned into a futuristic city.

This book can keep parents and children occupied for hours, with always something more to notice.

Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

****Can You See What I See?*

Dream Machine

A Picture Adventure to Search and Solve

by Walter Wick