SEASONS

In a seasonal round, crowds of
bright flora and fauna ingeniously constructed from geometric forms pose
playful challenges in shape and color recognition.

Two sturdy, toothed wheels turning
under die-cut windows on either the right or the left of each big spread are
the engines that drive this entry in the Turn Seek Find series. They invite
viewers to choose one of four grayscale figures—a robin (this is a French
import), a fir tree, a squirrel, or a snowflake in “Winter,” for instance—and
one of four colors and then to spot the selection amid a seasonally themed riot
of stylized shapes and saturated hues. Along with using evocative color schemes
for the four seasons, Giordano fits his semi-abstract figures and their
compositions together in such harmonious ways that the seek-and-find game may well
take a back seat to the simple pleasures of just poring over each scene,
letting lines and transitions guide exploratory eyes to fresh discoveries,
seeing the plants and animals (there are many more than the quartet offered on
each wheel), and basking in the golden glow of “ Fall” or shivering deliciously
in the chilly blues of “Winter.” Still, the game is absorbing too, and it’s
capped at the end with elements of the previous pictures recast in a joyous
whirl of “All Year Round,” with apples, flies, clover, and frogs to spot. “Hooray,
you found them! Now turn the wheels to play again!” The invitation will find no
lack of takers.

High marks for concept, art, design,
and sheer visual energy. (Novelty board book. 3-5)