What's Looking At You Kid?

Lewis, the current Children’s Poet Laureate, offers rhymes as riddles. Examples include “Hanging in the air’s the thing / he can do without a wing / Look, a yo-yo on a string! Whee!” and “Look who’s into something sweet. / She must live on Honey Street. / She’s got honey on her feet!” Each answer names an animal, and, in these examples, the first is a spider, and the second a bee. Although the full pollen baskets on the bee’s legs are a bit distracting, as they’re unexplained and unrelated to the riddle, the paintings are usually uncomplicated, helpful, and pleasing. Many of the riddles would be difficult to solve without a hint, but the illustrations make the answers obvious. When sharing the book with groups of children, readers may want to pause after reading each rhyme, before showing the picture. Apart from the title, which winks at adults, this playful picture book invites involvement and response from young children.