Where in the Wild? eye-tricking photography and ear-tickling poetry (ages 4 - 9)

Kids love puzzling over books, especially finding a hidden picture. Where in the Wild uses kids' fascination with hidden objects to entice them into learning about animals, combining stunning photography of camouflaged animals, poetry with hints about the animal you're looking for, and factual information about each animal. Each time I show these books in the library, kids clamor for them.

Where in the Wild? Camouflaged animals concealed and revealed
by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy
photography by Dwight Kuhn
CA: Tricycle, 2007
ages 4-9
available on Amazon and at your public library

Where else in the wild? More camouflaged creatures concealed--and revealed
by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy
photography by Dwight Kuhn
CA: Tricycle, 2007
ages 4-9
available on Amazon and at your public library

David Schwartz loves to find unusual, whimsical ways to make math and science come alive for kids. In these two books, he combines science, nature and eye-tricking photography to hook kids into noticing hidden details in nature. Kids will stare at the photographs, trying to pick out the small animals hidden in the backgrounds, and then they will test you to see if you can find them. Each photograph is paired with a short poem that offers hints describing the animal. When you open the spread, you see a washed-out version of the same picture with the hiding animal highlighted, plus factual information about each animal.

Can you guess this animal?

One Great Bound
I'm fast and strong,
my feet are long,
and when I'm on my way
in one great bound
I leave the ground
then land ten feet away!

When cold winds blog
I match the snow -
my fur's a soft white gown.
But then I molt
and change my coat.
By summer I've turned brown!

- copyright, David Schwartz and Yael Schy
Where Else in the Wild?

As you can imagine, kids love looking at the pictures and listening to the poems. What a great combination!

Where in the Wild won the 2008 Science Books and Films Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Children’s Science Picture Book category. This prize is sponsored by Subaru and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

I especially liked reading David Schwartz's blog entry about researching animals for his upcoming book What in the Wild? Secrets of Nature Concealed . . . and Revealed (projected release date: August 2010 from Tricycle). He writes about questions that don't have clear answers, that scientists don't necessarily know the answers to. Check it out: The Truth, But Which Truth? It's a fascinating look into the research process, and at scientific discovery about animal behavior.