Look!

Facing pages of each spread contain views of nature that, at first glance, appear to be identical. Closer examination reveals that in fact a number of subtle changes--12 in each pairing--have occurred from one illustration to the other. A wax plant flowers, a python wraps around its prey, a chameleon changes color--all within exotic scenes whose venues range from tropical rain forest to northern tundra to deepest ocean. Wilson's paintings are highly realistic, lush in color and composition, and painstaking in detail. Reminiscent of Graeme Base's meticulous depictions of animals and animal characters, they demand--and repay--an intensity of viewing akin to that required by Base's The Eleventh Hour. The differences in each picture are indicated at the end of the book, where the appended nature notes contain a wealth of information about the natural world. Ages 6-up. (Sept.)