cover image Here a Face, There a Face

Here a Face, There a Face

Arlene Alda, . . Tundra, $14.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-88776-845-3

The artist behind the camera for Did You Say Pears? delivers another perky photo-essay that blends poetry, art and elements of traditional seek-and-find books. This outing challenges readers to see faces—combinations of eyes, nose, mouth—in such everyday objects as water faucets, a mailbox or a skillet in which eggs are sizzling. Each of her color photos is accompanied by a brief phrase that helps focus the reader's attention and is also part of a longer rhyming couplet (“Looking up,/ Glancing down,/ Staring straight ahead./ On a pot,/ In a pan,/ Even on some bread”). The verse grows more abstract toward the end, and the closing image, of clouds, may throw some readers (“Look, there goes a fluffy pig... floating towards its bed”). But those who love seeing the ordinary in new ways, especially those who aren't yet ready for I Spy and Look-Alike titles, will welcome this entry. Ages 2-5. (Mar.)