Can You See Me?

This is a really fun book to look at, I love the way the artwork is done- paper collage made entirely of triangles! Each illustration has a clue to the animal's identity in verse. I can see this being an inspiration for art play, and learning how to see shapes in the world around us. I think it would be helpful if the animals in each illustration were named- most are easy to figure out, but there were a few I wasn't quite sure what the animal was, or couldn't remember the name of. Maybe a gallery at the back to show a picture of each animal- this would also serve to show how the shapes of the triangles were used to illustrate each animal, giving more inspiration to the reader.

#CanYouSeeMe #NetGalley

The premise behind this book is actually pretty neat. Each of the animals is depicted using just a few equilateral triangles, and readers are invited to guess what they are based on the simple rhyming text. Despite the illustrations being so basic, it's actually not that difficult to "see" each of the animals; the triangles are arranged in such a way that they suggest the shapes of the various creatures. (There's really only one animal that I still can't quite "see", although I figured out what it was from the text. I have a feeling it might be like one of those pictures where you can see both a vase and two faces, depending on how you look at it; so different people might see different things, or one reader might see something different with each viewing.)

The rhyming text is cute and works well with the illustrations. I can see this being a nice little book to sit down with and have some interaction over, as both adults and kids can have some fun trying to figure out the different animals. (The cover is a good example of the kind of thing you'll find in this book. Can you see the giraffe?)

Overall, I thought this was unique and engaging, even though it looks very simple on the surface.

Fantastic concept, really well executed in the illustrations. Rhymes felt like they could have been stronger, but most readers I think will enjoy.

This is a really fun book to look at — I loved the creativity behind each picture being made using a collage of triangles.

I read this book with both my 2 and 5 year olds and they both loved it. My youngest liked the rhyming of the words and the bright colors. My oldest liked figuring out what each animal was by looking at the pictures and then listening to the description to see if he was right.

I think it would be helpful to have each animal named on the page somewhere, or even in the back of book, as some animals were difficult to figure out. This could also help show children how the triangles made up the animals (if there was a guide in the back of book).

Overall, I think this is a really fun and interactive book for kids of all ages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing a digital ARC.

This book was totally charming and informative! The use of abstract art was a really unique way to 'hide' the animals for the kids to find. I love minimalist art styles so it was right to my taste. I plan to request this book for our store upon release, where it will fit nicely in the early learning section!

What an interesting book! It's challenging for the little ones to see the animals that are barely outlined by shapes. This would stretch their imagination and their observational skills. I highly recommend this one for 3-6 year olds!

A game of hide and seek. Animals made entirely of triangles camouflaging in their surroundings.

A great book for young kids to teach them about camouflage. Colors are bright and bold and the animals are easy enough to spot. Then you just figure out what each animal is.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a cool concept. It had various shapes that were made to look like animals if you used your imagination. Some of them were super easy to discover and some of them took some concentration. The text gave clues to what the animal could be. I loved trying to guess. what the animals were.

I really liked what this book was attempting to do, and when it went well it was really great. The times my kid was able to guess the animal before reading the text he was so proud. There was one or two images that completely stumped him though even after reading the page and produced a little frustration.

Certainly clever, and hopefully inspiring, this bright picture book is inventive enough to really stand out as distinctive. About a dozen spreads, all with a gnomic, almost haiku-like text, alert us to the fact the design contains an animal, represented by sometimes as few as just four arranged triangles. Obviously some are going to work better than others – some involve a good squint, others are wittily evident – but I think this book is both really well crafted and simple enough to want the purchaser to experiment with their own designs. Other people are better placed than me to discuss the mental growth afforded the very young by interpreting such designs as we get here, but this is fun enough to not just seem a brain exercise. Four and a half stars.

This book takes you to the wilds of Africa to look for exotic creatures. The catch is, you only get to see pieces of them. Triangular pieces of them, that is.

It was fun to try and figure out what animal was on each page, but if it weren't for the text, there are a few that I wouldn't have guessed. The lion and the seal were the most difficult to see. I'm still not even sure if I saw them correctly. Kids seem to have the capacity to use their imagination more than adults, so they may be able to see it just fine. This is a book that I would share at a storytime for ages 4+.

*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher of sharing a an e-copy in exchange for my honest review.*

Yes! This is exactly the kind of children's book that gets me excited and that I like to buy. It is interactive, imaginative and fun. I think the concept is unbelievably clever and I can definitely see myself picking up a copy of this one. It's great!

I really like reading interactive picture book with my children and students. This is pretty good for that.
Here the authors have used abstract art, to create animals in their surroundings. Each page contains an illustration of an animal made up entirely of triangles. I think the authors idea here is to read the clue and wait for the child to determine what creature is intended. . The book is pretty but rarely can one figure out the animal based on the geometric drawing. The clues, written in rhyme, are enough to figure out what the author WANTS you to see. For example: I chew on bamboo. Might that be a panda, do you think? Or, I spray my scent. The skunk is simply five triangles of different sizes. I think the artists like the art of Cubism or better yet, triangularism.

My favorite animal is the shark. I was able to identify it. For the cover art they used the giraffe which was the animal that was the most apparent. But here’s the thing, I went through the book again and I liked it more the second time. I think children may be be drawn to this unusual book. I started out with two stars and my opinion has jumped to four stars after further contemplation. At the end of the book the reader is asked what else do you see. The two page spread looks like constellations.

A clever book that makes you discover the animals within it with an abstract picture and a small riddle.

I absolutely loved this. The art style was very up my alley. Not all of the animals were easy to see, but I liked that there were varying difficulty levels. It made the guessing game more fun.

You could probably read this for an interactive storytime but I think it would be even better one-on-one.

Received an eARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an adorable book! The illustrations are perfect for young children. All of the animals are made of triangles, which is so fun! It would be great if there was an "answer key" added to the back so that children could see the completed animal.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love how this book has a different sort of artwork, made by using only triangles to make recognizable pictures. Young kids will love it (and so will parents)!

<em>Can You See Me?</em> by Mikhala Lantz-Simmons and Mohammad Rasoulipour is an incredibly fun children's book that I actually had quite a bit of fun reading. There's a genuine and wonderful cleverness to how the illustrations in this book are constructed. The book is, as the cover suggests, a unique conglomeration of shapes, put together against a single color background in order to depict a specific animal that young children are meant to suss out.

Honestly, this is a pretty cute children's book. I love that it features an abundance of triangles to develop the shapes of the animals and ultimately I found it quite clever. Some are harder to determine than others, but fortunately, the rhyming text is there to assist when necessary.

Of course, as much as I did genuinely like this book, I did find myself at somewhat of a loss regarding the end message. It doesn't really seem to have one. Other than the fact that this book teaches about animals, triangles, and art there isn't really a whole lot to say for what children reading this are bound to learn. In that sense, I did very much enjoy the book but I don't know if I would go out of my way to get copies for any kids I know.

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

This review will go live on the Reader Fox blog on June 18, 2020.