Picture book pick: I Spy with My Little Eye

Once in a while, a picture book comes along that's an insta-classic for its sheer simplicity, evocative illustrations and a built-in suspense that makes tots excited as all heck to turn the page. This time, its title is I Spy with My Little Eye by Edward Gibbs (Templar Books; $15). Like Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, from which it borrows heavily, I Spy isn't about much more than animal names and colors. But instead of telling the reader what's on the next page, a diecut hole gives him a glimpse of the animal's color (say, white) and a hint or two as well, such as "I live in the Arctic." Once the page is turned, the hole aligns with the eye on the lefthand side of the previous page, completing the handsome, pen-and-watercolor–esque creature in wonderfully dramatic fashion: the kind that hooks kids on books.