I Spy Ultimate Challenger (Scholastic Readers)

asked by trailrider on November 11, 2006 1:09 PM

Walter Wick's fun photos and Jean Marzollo's tricky riddles have returned in this I Spy "best of," a compilation of some of the duo's most entertaining "Where's Waldo?"-style visual scavenger hunts.

Kids and grownups should be amply entertained digging up hidden treasure from a dozen different two-page tableaus, like "Baking Cookies": "I spy a boot, five arrows, blue hair,/A deer, four flames, a little green bear;/Five white beards, two three-string guitars,/Six raisin eyes, and three treetop stars." Wick's detail-rich photographs span from the realistic--like The Rainbow Express (an excitingly in-progress train diorama) and Arts & Crafts (a craft table crowded with thumbtacks, pipe cleaners, and the like)--to the more surreal, like Inventor's Workshop, a confabulation of live electrodes and steaming test tubes.

Ultimate Challenger makes a fine introduction to the 20-plus-volume I Spy series (Treasure Hunt, School Days, and Marzollo gladly adds value here with two pages of brand-new additional riddles. (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes

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Reviews

I like this I Spy book best of all. Not only does it have some of the best scenes from some of the previous I Spy books, but it also has some cool new riddles. Various scenes include "Rainbow Express" From I Spy Fantasy, "A is for..." From I Spy School Days, and "Baking Cookies" From I Spy Christmas. I read this whenever I feel like I need to pass the time because it is so much fun looking for things.

Overall, 5 Stars. If you can find this book, buy it. It is top-notch fun!

reviewed by bulldogs on November 27, 2006 5:50 AM

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While there's nothing particularly wrong with this book, there's nothing groundbreaking, either. The pictures are taken from other books in the series, and while the riddles are new, they aren't any more difficult or involved than usual. Think of this as "ultimate" in the sense of "last in a series" (until the next one comes out), not "highest in degree or order, utmost or extreme" (definitions via WordNet).

In addition to this book, I also have the Spooky Night, Christmas, and Mystery I Spy books. Of the 12 pictures in this collection five come from those books (two each from Spooky Night and Christmas, one from Mystery). Also with only 12 pictures, "Ultimate Challenger" has one fewer picture than the Christmas and Mystery books. And because the pictures come from a variety of sources, there isn't even a "find the common element" usually present at the end of an I Spy book.

To be sure the pictures are creatively staged and the riddles occasionally make good use of word play (trunk: is that elephant, tree or luggage?), and there are the usual bonus riddles at the end of the book. Make sure you have a very good light source over your shoulder or head because the finish on the pages and lighting of some of the pictures can make the objects even harder to find.

If you're new to I Spy or don't have any of the books recycled here (check the Amazon Search Table of Contents for a list of the pictures, the Back Cover has, I believe, a list of the books involved), the "Ultimate Challenger" isn't bad - and it's more disappointing than terrible if you do have some of the books already. Just don't expect anything too incredible (either in terms of quality or quantity), or you'll be let down.

reviewed by shagdag on November 29, 2006 6:46 AM

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