Search and Spot: Animals!

Ljungkvist pairs the sophisticated design of her Follow the Line books with the hidden-object aspect of her 2013 collaboration with Mem Fox, Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!, as she asks readers to locate animals and objects in patterned spreads packed with dogs, insects, fish, and more. Similarly posed, overlapping animals with varying colors and textures keep things challenging—a cat-themed page features felines shown in silhouette, outline, and photographic textures. The straightforward, reader-directed text appears in large circles, a kind of visual pun on the “spot” of the title. Bold, contrasting colors and the midcentury atmosphere of the artwork (the lily pads Ljungkvist creates for several dozen frogs recall “boomerang” patterned Formica from the 1950s) make this seek-and-find book stylish enough to spawn a wallpaper line. Ages 4–7. [em]Agent: John Rudolph, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Oct.) [/em]