• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • FAQ
    • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe
  • Community
  • Books
    • Books for Children by Age
    • Book Lists
    • Holiday Books and Activities
  • Reading Ideas
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • Preschoolers
    • Kindergarteners & Early Elementary
  • Writing Ideas
  • Parental Involvement: Building Partnerships
  • Start Here!
    • WELCOME TO THE GROWING BOOK BY BOOK COMMUNITY
    • Subscribe
    • Contact
    • FAQ
      • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
  • Shop
  • Home
  • Book Lists
    • Books for Children by Age
    • Book Lists
    • Holiday Books and Activities
  • Book Activities
  • Early Literacy
    • Alphabet Activities
    • Circle Time Activities
    • Phonological Awareness Activities

Growing Book by Book

  • Family Involvement
    • Start a Family Dinner Book Club
  • Start Here
  • Store
discovering with babies playing with toddlers exploring with preschoolers building with beginning readers

Bring joy and play into children's lives through books.

Yes, please!
You are here: Home / All categories / Hidden Picture Books

Hidden Picture Books

June 18, 2012 • 5 Comments

Sharing is caring!

87 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Do you remember the hidden picture page in the Highlights magazine?  When I was young,  I spent many waiting room visits hunting for the hidden objects in that magazine.

One of the most popular bins of books when I first started teaching  (in the 1990’s), was the Where’s Waldo books.  The kids could easily spend the entire reading time with their eyes glued to this series.  My very active boys in the class especially loved searching for Waldo on each page.  At the time, I struggled with students who wanted to spend their entire reading block engaged with a book that didn’t require them to “read”.  I ended up setting a limit on the amount time students could interact with the books.  As my literacy knowledge grew, I came to realize the positive impact that hidden picture books could have on literacy development.

Hidden picture books are interactive and help to develop visual perception.  If the child is circling found objects, then he is also developing fine motor skills.

There are many beautiful hidden picture books available.  Here are a few to explore.

Walter Wick has a series of Can You See What I See? themed books in which he is the author and illustrator.  He even has a board book for the very young.  I really like his Once Upon a Time book.

You may have also recognized Wick’s work in the I Spy series in which he was the illustrator/photographer.  Jean Marzollo wrote the riddles.   There are over 10 books in this series.  I Spy School Days was a popular one with my students.

Usborne books has a series called 1001 Things to Spot  ____.   Last year they came out with 1001 Things to Spot on Vacation.  Finding over a 1000 things in a book can keep you occupied your whole vacation!

Look-Alikes Jr. by Joan Steiner creatively uses everyday objects (crackers, pencils, combs, etc.) to create places such as houses, classrooms or farmyards.  The more you look, the more you see.

Are you looking for a summer literacy project?  Why not make your own hidden picture book.  To start, you will need a digital camera and lots of small objects.  Group your objects and take your pictures.  Print them out on 8×10 photo paper or have them developed at Sams, Walgreens, etc.  Sams will print an 8×10 for less than $1.50.  I would recommend laminating your pictures for durability since they pictures will be handled a lot.  Plus, if you want your child to practice fine motor skills by circling the found objects, then laminating is a must.  You are now ready to assemble your book.  Each spread should have a picture and a list of items to “spy”.  Another option would be to upload your photos onto a site like Snapfish and create a photo book of your images.  An 8×11 photo book on Snapfish runs about $25.  They often run specials, so check for discount codes.  I just created a book for 50% off.  Below you can see a page of our hidden picture book I created based on the colors of each holiday of the year (red, white and blue for 4th of July, orange and black for Halloween, etc.) Your creativity can really take this into a long term summer project!

4th of July Page of Our Hidden Picture Book

Happy reading and book making!

Please visit the linky party directory button at the bottom of the home page to see where this post has been linked.

Did you get your free list of Books Kids Will Beg You to Read?

Get It

Sharing is caring!

87 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

5 Comments Filed Under: All categories, Book Lists Tagged With: hidden picture books, I Spy Books, making hidden picture books, Walter Wick, Where's Waldo

About Jodie Rodriguez

Jodie Rodriguez is a mom of two young boys and an early childhood/elementary educator with over 20 years of experience. Jodie's passion is helping parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else interested in nurturing and reaching ALL of our youngest growing readers.

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published.

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Lorie says

    June 20, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    Great idea for summer! Featuring you on the Kid’s Co-op tomorrow.

    Reply
    • Jodie says

      June 20, 2012 at 9:01 pm

      That’s great. Thank you!

      Reply
  2. Bethany says

    June 20, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    Thanks for the list! Barbara McClintock has a nice book called Adele & Simon that we like. It only has one or two things to look for per page, so it is perfect for young children. I like your idea of making your own. We may try that!

    Reply
    • Jodie says

      June 20, 2012 at 1:33 pm

      We’ll have to check that one out. That sounds perfect for my 1.5 year old. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Kids Co-Op: 6 Summer Literacy Activities says:
    October 5, 2012 at 9:50 am

    […] Confetti Spell Your Shape Words from Three Ghost Friends Story Themed Lunches from Keitha’s Chaos Hidden Picture Books to Read and Make from Growing Book by Book   Link up with us and you might be featured here next week! Just don’t forget to link back […]

    Reply

What can we help you find?

Subscribe to Growing Book by Book

lead magnet for growing book bybook
Welcome to Growing Book by Book!  Learn about the creator, Jodie Rodriguez.

Find More

alphabet activities
book lists for children
circle time button

Popular Post

summer reading calendars

Attend This Year’s Soar to Success Summit



Copyright ©2022, Growing Book by Book. All Rights Reserved. Custom design by Pixel Me Designs | Privacy Policy