Hey, Seymour!

Tinkertoys, wooden blocks, and assorted miniature figurines create an exuberantly playful backdrop for the continuing adventures of Seymour, previously seen in several of Wick’s Can You See What I See? books. Foldout pages—some vertical, some horizontal, some just skinny flaps—allow each scene to expand, while creating a subtle cause-and-effect narrative. In one, plans for a robot are tacked to a wall, surrounded by heaps of shiny knobs, gears, and springs (opening the flap reveals the completed robot). Upbeat rhymes follow Seymour’s adventures while telling readers what they need to find: “I see a camera,/ a key, a comb,/ I see a cell phone/ for calling home,” writes Wick beside a Star Wars–worthy spaceship made of painted corrugated cardboard. The sheer intricacy and inventiveness of Wick’s photographed dioramas are well worth the price of admission. Ages 3–5. (Sept.)