This fun book is an activity as well as an introduction to art from around the world. Children enjoy playing "I spy with my little eye..." and will find familiar shapes in unique paints on each page of this book. The first page begins with the familiar words of "I spy" asking readers to find a square. Turn the page and there are all kinds of shapes, but only one little square. Each page continues alternating between asking readers to search for a specific shape. Some of the shapes are familiar to young readers, but some are more advanced-- like a cylinder.

I Spy Shapes in Art is a great read aloud in a Pre-K to second grade class. Children will have fun trying to spy the various shapes that comprise the pictures. Children who are learning shapes will find it challenging to identify all of the various shapes contained within this book. I would connect it to an art or math lesson. ( )

Micklethwait, Lucy. I Spy Shapes in Art. New York: Greenpillow Books, 2004

Characters: Not applicable

Setting: Not applicable

Theme: concept book; shapes, art, geometry in art

Genre: Children’s nonfiction; picturebook

Golden Quote: “I spy with my little eye…”

Summary: A unique concept book presents an interactive I Spy game that encourages readers to search for all kinds of shapes in fourteen masterpieces of art.

Audience: Ages 3 and up

Curriculum ties: shape and color recognition; art appreciation; geometry in art; understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures; making connections between visual arts and other disciplines

Awards: Child magazine’s Best Children’s Book Award; 2004 Blue Peter Book Award “The Best Book with Facts”

Personal response: I Spy Shapes in Art is concept book on shapes, but it is also so much more than that. Lucy Micklethwait takes famous paintings from around the world and turns it into an I Spy game, while at the same time, introducing young readers to fine art. She focuses on just one shape per masterpiece, but it also meant to be enjoyed over and over; looking for other shapes in each artistic work as well as the detailed workmanship it took to create each piece. This book will incite children of all ages to examine art (and shapes for that matter) from a different perspective. ( )

In a book that has illustrations of famous paintings, children are encouraged to find shapes such as squares, cones, and ovals within the paintings. This is a book that lends itself to extending into an art project using shapes. ( )

ELIB 530A – LibraryThing Part B – Beginning Book / Concept Book 1
The author of this book pares the works of great artists with the aural rhythmic cadence of the childhood game “I Spy With My Little Eye” in the text. The initial focus is on finding one particular shape within each artwork. The effect of looking for that shape encourages really SEEING what is there rather than taking the usual perfunctory look at the work. All the works are 2-dimensional and represent a good variety of art movements in the Modern Art era. One hopes that the dialogue that ensues expands to include other elements and content within those artworks.