The Pagemaster: Who's in the Library with Richard?

ISBN 1570360316 - Printed and bound in U.S.A. (just a small added plus) The Pagemaster makes another appearance here, bringing classic stories to life - literally. I'm not 100% positive who this really appeals to more, because the stories are more well known by adults, but The Pagemaster is more well known by kids. That might make this the best sort of meeting ground for literature fans of all ages. Richard is, once again, in the library. It's your job to help him get home in time for supper. The Pagemaster explains the rules of the game - you must find a certain number of famous book characters (naming them and the book they are from) on each page before you can progress. You must also find The Pagemaster, Richard, Fantasy, Adventure and Horror AND the exit sign. Each two-page spread starts with the name of the "land" you're in (The Land of Adventure, The Land of Horror, etc) and lists the books you can find represented on those pages. Other than that text, the pages are taken up entirely by Where's Waldo-esque images full of color and a bit of chaos, to make the challenge more difficult. The last four pages contain clues to make things a little easier when you're stumped. I love the notion of introducing classics to young readers. There are books that everyone ought to read once in their lifetime, and not because the teacher made you. This unique approach lifts this book just that little bit above the usual seek-and-find books, opening all sorts of literary doors for children - and that it happens while they try to escape from the library is just a bit of irony. Illustrator Dave Clegg does a fantastic job of hiding images within the larger image but not making it so difficult that children will give up. - AnnaLovesBooks