I Spy Mystery:  A Book of Picture Riddles
Ages 5-10. Like other books in Marzollo's I Spy series, this one features a simple rhyming text and crystal-clear color photographs of common objects. Readers will have to be eagle-eyed (not to mention diligent) to locate the bright toys, games, party favors, sports equipment, and other childhood items that hide in blue shadows, on a shell-filled beach, behind keyholes, and in a whimsical nursery painting. Filled with props, the diverse and imaginative "sets" (their construction is explained in a note) should inspire kids to invent their own mysteries and rhymes. Librarians should be forewarned that patrons may be tempted to mark up the pages, but this is still a book to recommend to young detectives sick of looking for that little guy in the red-and-white stripped shirt and the red hat.Julie Corsaro