Illusions in Art: Animals

ILLUSIONS IN ART: ANIMALS is an engaging children’s book that is suitable for all ages, including babies. It introduces both art and shapes to young minds. In each image, there are two animals and one is usually hiding within the other. It stimulates a child’s mind while encouraging them to learn how to recognize differences in images. The illustrations are composed of two contrasting colors so each image stands out if you look hard enough. You get a a bird in a lion, a fish in a whale, a lizard in a swan, and so much more. The writing is lyrical with an alternating rhyming scheme to add to the look and find fun.

Final Verdict: I would recommend this to early learners and fans of art and animals. It would be a great addition to early learning art classes. While babies may not grasp the concept of the contrasting images, it's a simple way to introduce the idea more than anything.

Illusions in Art used negative and positive space (terminology explained in the last pages) to create illusions of animals. The text gave the directions needed to help see the second image. The answer was at the bottom of the page so you are never left wondering if you were correct. I was impressed with the rhyme on each page that helped you to figure out what the illusionary animal would be. I found the text and illustrations to work together in a clever way that will make a child very proud to figure out the hidden image. This board book is geared for babies to age 3 years but the level of flexible thinking needed may be better suited for ages 3-5 years.