Where's Wallace?: Story and Panoramas

This book clearly deserves more than five stars.Like all of the great children's books, this one succeeds at several levels. The story creates a connection for the reader or listener between humans and animals at a caring, considerate level that can provide a model for human relations as well. It also succeeds as an adventure story, along the lines of a gigantic hide-and-go-seek game. At another level, it helps the reader or viewer become more observant with an early version of Where's Waldo? and I Spy. Finally, the book shows the potential for all to enjoy themselves more by cooperating to expand curiosity and exploration. The book begins with the relationship between Wallace, an orangutan in a little zoo in a big busy city, and his keeper, Mr. Frumbee. The two are very attached to each other. They eat, read, and play games together . . . almost like parent and child. Mr. Frumbee even keeps Wallace's money for him in a bank. Then one day, the door of the cage is left ajar and Wallace escapes with his bank to buy some fine clothes. Seven more escapes follow, each following a discussion about the outside world that interests Wallace. For each of the eight escapes, Hilary Knight provides a wonderfully detailed two-page spread where you are encouraged to find Wallace. If you cannot, for some reason, he tells you where Wallace is on the next page. After you tire of this game or memorize the locations, Wallace has 6 companions in each of the panoramas that you can locate, as well. These illustrations will remind you of the best of the Richard Scarry drawings in their beautiful detail and colorations. Along the way, Wallace is found each time by Mr. Frumbee, and they manage to spend a little time having fun with each other before returning to the zoo. What a nice counter model to the usual outrage and screaming of the caregiver who is looking for the lost child! Wallace finds himself in a park having a picnic, a department store buying clothes, a natural history museum with a dinosaur skeleton, a three ring circus, a baseball park, a midway at an amusement park, and an apartment building near the zoo. The first hint that this could be a great book comes when you see that the story and panoramas are by Hilary Knight, the famed illustrator of the four Eloise stories. The second hint comes quickly thereafter when you read Judith Viorst's description of her copy of the book, acquired in 1964 when it was first published. Her "original copy . . . [is] chewed on, dribbled on, spilled on, exhaustively read." Now what more could you hope for from a children's book?The third hint hits you when you open the first panorama and find yourself engrossed in the beautifully detailed, small drawings across the two page spread. If you are like me, it takes you a minute or two to find Wallace, even though he isn't that hard to find in this panorama. The fourth hint shows itself when you notice that Wallace is trusted with the door open, even th

Being the big Hilary Knight fan, I was happy to see that this book has been reprinted for those of us who were not around the first time it came out. Yay! The artwork in this book is classic Knight, and the story is fun and engaging (and predates Where's Waldo by almost three decades.) I am thrileld to see Knight finally getting his due, and I sure wouldn't mind seeing a sequel to this book either.. hint hint. Wallace is actually more innocent and likable than Eloise, so not even the reader is too frustrated that he keeps escaping. After all, with the world that Knight has created, how could we not want to get out and explore as well?The pictures alone are fun to look at. Kids will enjoy spending time looking at the pictures (well, I did too...)

How wonderful to see this book back in print again! Hilary Knight is also the illustrator of Kay Thompson's "Eloise" books, but here he shines on his own with a masterpiece. The more famous "Where's Waldo" books seem but a pale imitation of this earlier, more original winner. For one thing, Knight's book is full of wit. It even has something of a plot, about a clever orangutan who is allowed to escape from the zoo by his friendly keeper. Every time he escapes, the keeper goes to look for him. Knight's panoramas invite hours of searching, not only because Wallace is hidden in them somewhere but also because the pictures are fraught with hilarious activity. Kids will read the book through once and find Wallace, but perceptive ones will then return to the book innumerable times because Knight has generously included at least seven other characters who recur in the backgrounds of every fun-filled page, among them a jogger and a knitting lady. Filled with winning characters and gorgeous pictures, this classic definitely deserves to be restored to its rightful place as THE find-the-character book. I recommend owning it. I'm still studying the pictures, even in adulthood!

I had this book when I was a little girl and ended up giving it away when I was older. I spent hours looking for Wallace and was always pleased when I could find him. Now I am expecting a little girl of my own and want to start a library of books and include all the books I loved as a child. I am disappointed this book is out of print; hopefully I will be able to find one somewhere!

This book helped shape the way I look at the world today---a fantabulous world full of detail and adventure in the everyday. Thank you, Hilary Knight, for this wonderful, whimsical book, providing hours of enchantment for impressionable little girls and boys!