If you're familiar with the I Spy series, you know what to expect in this book. If you're new to the world of I Spy, imagine staring in your fully stocked refrigerator looking for the Philly cream cheese. You know it's there - you just bought it yesterday - but for the life of you, you can't find it. Then your spouse comes by, reaches around you and grabs the tub from beside the two-liter bottle of Pepsi. I Spy is just like that: you know what you're looking for, you know it's in the picture somewhere, and some clown is bound to come by and find it immediately after you've been searching for a half an hour. That's why I recommend letting your spouse have first crack at the pictures. It makes your finding the specified objects a breeze.

The thirteen hide-and-seek pictures in the book all have - as you might suspect from the title - a Christmas theme. There's Santa's workshop, assorted sugar cookies and Christmas tree ornaments, shop window displays, and an arrangement of dolls and stuffed animals that looks a lot like something from the movie, E.T. Most images are set as cheerful tableaus, but several are avant garde arrangements of knickknacks, doodads, and Christmas goodies.

The riddles are challenging, not because they're cryptic but because they have you searching all over the page to find what you're looking for. I find it helpful to work on two or three elements from the riddle at a time. If you're looking for an ice cube, a twist of lime and a carrot-nose all at the same time you're bound to run into one of the three sooner or later. Plus it cuts down on the frustrating "ooh, I just saw that ... where'd it go?" moments. Once you've exhausted the riddles - and that should take a while - it's good to find a friend and play "I spy with my little eye something that begins with...." The pages are jam-packed with everything from angels to zebras, so you'll never run out of things to spy.

There are only a couple drawbacks to the book. First, the glare from the glossy paper can make it difficult to find anything on the page if the lighting isn't right. Second, there's no answer key. It's left to your own judgment as to whether you've found what you're looking for. There are times when you'll be looking for an object, say a jingle bell on the "Holly & Ivy" page, and you'll see something that looks less unlike a jingle bell than anything else on the page, but you're left wondering if you've actually found it or not. Granted, there are those who'd start with the answer page and fake their spying prowess, but for honorable souls there's no option to solemnly swear you've tried your best and then sneak a peek at the answers. Oh well, I guess it's time to let my wife have a look.

The pictures in the I Spy books are as incredible to look at as they are to search for the hidden-in-plain-sight objects. I Spy Christmas is an excellent choice to add to your collection or to start one with. Enjoy!

My son (He's 6) and I enjoy this book very much. It is an adventure everytime we read it. The extra Credits are also very challenging...

This book is great for little kids. When their friends come over and get hooked on these books you will wonder where they have gone. This book is also great for families.

We bought this when my daughter was about 4 years old and it quickly became her favorite book. She had an incredible ability to locate items in the photographs that boggled my mind. And, she never tired of finding those items. She is now 11 and just gave the book up.

I was amazed by the beautiful photographs and the fantastic way the items are hidden in the photgraphs. I had as much fun reading this book with my daughter as she did.

If you want to find the perfect book to bond with a son or daughter over...this is it!!!

Unless you have a photographic memory, you will find that the challenge of finding the images described in these rhyming riddles to be a fresh one each time you open a page. Pretty soon, the items in the puzzle all look alike. Growing a little weary of looking, you eventually call out for help. And then another person is drawn in. And then another. Pretty soon, you have the equivalent of a marshmallow roast around a campfire going on for all your friends and family.

There are 13 picture puzzles on the themes of ornaments, winter wonderland, window shopping, the holly and the ivy, winter sports, baking cookies, Christmas crafts, Santa's workshop, stocking stuffers, antique teddy bears, nutcracker sweets, under the tree, and Silent Night. As you can tell from the subjects, each puzzle explores a different aspect of the Christmas holiday.

Each photograph for the puzzle is almost two oversized facing pages of brilliant color crammed with details. At the bottom is a brief couplet, telling you what to find. It is in the form of

I spy an A, a B,

The C, a D;

Two Es, a P,

Some Qs, and a Z.

The images range enormously from large, obvious ones (7 pine cones) to subtle, partially hidden ones (the shadow of a star).

A separate photographic set was established for each image, which gives lots of variety of scene and lighting. Most sets were about four feet by eight feet and were photographed with an 8" by 10" view camera. Chicken wire, baking soda for snow, and other disguises are used to make it all seem like Christmas. Each photograph is in stunning color. I especially liked the one with the Christmas ornaments.

The book also contains some extra credit riddles, such as what item is in each photograph. You also get to match riddles with the photographs that the riddles describe.

And best of all are the instructions on how to use the photographs to create your own riddles.

I know it sounds simple, and maybe it is, but I never found it so. I did find it challenging, fun, and social . . . with my adorable daughter. It makes me smile to think of working with her to find the various objects.

After you have finished finding every last key, I suggest that you consider making your own book around a theme of interest to you and your child, godchild, or grandchild. That would be even more fun.

Look and learn to see!