Eye Spy

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In an inventive variation on the alphabet book, each page offers a puzzle with words that are homophones or homonyms. Once the trick is learned, the rest is easy, though it's fun to go back and discover how Bourke chooses to execute the theme. For example, for the letter J the first three illustrations show a jar of jam, a bowl of jam and jam on crackers; the fourth depicts a trio of jazz musicians jamming on bass, piano and sax. In another, three belts display various waists; the fourth block is a basket full of discarded paper. Children who like to play with words or are just learning some of the intriguing ways English works could be captivated by the concept. Unfortunately, the small-sized illustrations do not successfully capture the book's complicated but nifty ideas. All ages. (Oct.)

School Library Journal

Gr 2-6-- An alphabet book for children who enjoy visual puzzles and word play. Each letter is illustrated with four panels--the first three pictures depict different views of the same object; the fourth picture shows the homophone or homonym. For example, the letter A is illustrated with three pictures of an ant; the final frame shows an elderly woman--an aunt. The fourth frames also offer visual clues as to what will appear on the next page. In this case, the aunt is wearing a brooch decorated with bowling pins. Some of the word couplings are quite clever and successful; others seem forced or feature objects unfamiliar to many children. F is illustrated with a fishing fly and a soaring baseball, presumably a fly ball; J with pictures of jam or jelly and a group of musicians during a ``jam'' session. Those illustrations will challenge sophisticated children, but will overwhelm and frustrate younger readers. The artwork, featuring vibrant colors and careful design, is impressive and consistently effective. An innovative premise--a less than perfect execution. --Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI