If You Like... Seek and Find Books

I think we all can relate to pouring over the pages of our favorite picture books as children, searching out the tiniest details. Maybe you created your own objects to seek out within the illustrations, or maybe you thoroughly enjoyed being given clues and prompts? Either way these picture puzzles can provide endless hours of fascination. Here are some new suggestions to continue the fun of this classic children's genre!

Come Out, Come Out, Chameleon!

By Jonty Howley

Beverly, MA: Happy Yak, an imprint of The Quarto Group, 2024. Picture Book.

Set in a clever story format designed for younger readers, Come Out, Come Out, Chameleon! is the perfect introduction to the seek-and-find genre as you help a slightly clueless old man search for his pet chameleon. An exasperated dog sidekick and a visual surprise at the end will have your little readers laughing out loud for more!

Where's Waldo: The Great Games Speed Search

By Martin Handford

Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2024. Picture Book.

The latest offering in the ever-popular Where's Waldo series, The Great Games Speed Search has a fun new twist! Lay the book out flat and face off with an opponent as you race against each other to see who can find Waldo the fastest --chase him through soccer matches, dances, singing competitions, and more!

The Sea Hides a Seahorse

Written by Sara T. Behrman

Illustrated by Melanie Mikecz

Oakland, CA: The Collective Book Studio, 2024. Picture Book.

Journey along with various species of seahorses, as they camouflage throughout their day while eating, hunting, and courting to outsmart predators. Can you find them all?

Masters of Disguise: Camouflaging Creatures & Magnificent Mimics

By Marc Martin

Somerville, MA: Candlewick Studio, an imprint of Candlewick Press, 2021. Informational.

Chock full of information on how 12 very different species camouflage to survive and thrive, Masters of Disguise is not only beautifully illustrated, but also an engaging and challenging seek-and-find that is sure to draw in elementary audiences.

Lost in the Museum

Written by Will Mabbitt

Illustrated by Aaron Cushley

New York: DK Publishing, 2021. Picture Book.

Stevie is lost in The Met! How will she find her way to back to her family's meeting point? Follow along and search out clues through gorgeous illustrations of real-life Met exhibits!

Comments

Review: The New Girl

The New Girl By Cassandra Calin New York: Graphix, 2024. Comic. 261 pages. 12-year-old Lia and her family have just moved from Romania to Montreal, and she's doing her best to keep up with the changes. But, she's homesick. She misses the rest of her family, her friends, and her favorite Romanian treats. She doesn't speak French and her English is shaky, which makes it hard to make friends, even in her international immersion class. And she's dealing with super painful menstrual cramps every month. But before long, Lia starts to hit her stride. She befriends the other bilingual girls in her class, she gets a spot as the artist for her school's magazine, and even has a new crush -- Julien. Though she may be the new girl, Lia is starting to fit in. This slice of life graphic novel is an adorable choice for middle grade readers and young teens. Lia is a likable protagonist and readers will have little difficulty relating to her adjustment to school. The text speaks to a...

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Five Favorite Aunt and Uncle Books

Aunt and Uncle Day I discovered a new holiday. Apparently, July 26th is National Aunt and Uncle Day! In order to celebrate this day, I am sharing my five favorite middle grade books that have stellar aunts and uncles. Now, due to a lot of various circumstances, these books have a lot of hard things (death of a parent, parental neglect, and one case of good parents sending their child off to visit an uncle during summer vacation). So, be aware that these titles not only showcase some amazing aunts and uncles, but they also open the door to talk about hard topics. Closer to Nowhere By Ellen Hopkins Putnam’s Sons, 2020. This book is actually told from two different points of view—Hannah and Cal’s; however, the two protagonists are cousins. Cal comes to live with Hannah’s family and Hannah’s mom—Cal’s aunt—becomes Cal’s support and champion. Cal’s mom died and his dad is in prison. Cal is in a family foster care situation and doesn’t feel like he belongs. Hann...

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