Search for Waldo, and help him discover the truth about himself.
The elusive little guy you loved as a kid has ventured into an affordable new format, ready to boggle a new generation. Now he's easier to carry around—but just as hard as ever to find!
Martin Handford, the man behind the mind-boggling Waldo books, began his career as a freelance illustrator specializing in drawing crowd scenes. The turning point came when he was asked to create a book showcasing his impressive talent, and the character Waldo was born—originally to provide a link between each scene. "I can't tell you how pleased I am that Waldo has taken on a life of his own," Martin Handford says. "I'd like to inspire children to open their minds to explore subjects more, to be aware of what's going on around them. I'd like them to see wonder in places that may not have occurred to them." Martin Handford lives in England.
Neo enjoyed this book, as it gave him a chance to look and find Waldo and friends throughout this animated craziness on a page. Less 'read' than 'gazed over for long periods repeatedly'. Great to get that grey matter and eyes as sharp as can be!
You might be wondering why this book is on my "hidden gems" shelf. After all, pretty much everyone has read or at least heard of the Where's Waldo? books. Well, it's because Waldo is... wait for it... hidden!
I remember looking for Waldo with my mom and dad as a young kid, pouring over the book for hours. Now that I'm older and have my own kids, I can say with full confidence that this is the type of book that never gets old. It's still fun and becomes even more so when introducing it to a younger generation.
The artwork in Where's Waldo? The Fantastic Adventure is still as amazing and complex as I remember. I admire the skill and time that went into crafting every puzzle in the book, hiding the clues in just the right spots. It also has handy checklists for you to keep track of all the clues you've found, which definitely came in handy.
I read this book with my 5-year-old daughter several times and she thoroughly enjoyed finding the clues. They weren't overly difficult for her, but still challenging enough to keep her (and me!) attentive and searching over and over. The only puzzle we encountered difficulty was with The Land of Waldos, the last story in the book. The goal was to find him amongst hundreds of look-a-likes AND find his missing shoe. We did find his shoe, but Waldo himself eludes us constantly!
Final Verdict: Waldo is still as charming and captivating now as he was back in 1989 when it was first published. Young and old readers will find this edition a perfect book to enjoy together or apart.
this is possibly the most mind stimulating book i have ever read! the plot is a little hazy, but the concept is spectacular. anyone who has not read this book is a truly deprived soul and needs to pick up a copy as soon as they can!
We used this book to teach a grammar lesson about expanded noun phrases. It showed children that in order to effectively describe a character, for example in their writing they need to add detail to allow the reader to build up a picture.
We chose different pages from the book, paired everyone up and asked them to use noun phrases to describe one of the tiny characters and their partner had to find who were they were describing. After this, in larger groups, the class had to annotate photocopied pages from the book with all of the noun phrases they could come up with to create a vivid description of that picture, for example one group had a picture of a huge multicoloured fish.
We included opportunities for immediate feedback and elicitation by having each person write in a different coloured pen. This way a teacher could assess everyone’s understanding, contribution to the task and perhaps, recognise one of the more quiet children for their progress.
We could also make some links to Maths by dividing the pages of the book into sections in a grid and having the children write directions for finding: “The young boy with sandy-blonde hair, wearing tight red shorts and long electric green flippers”. This would teach prepositional words in a creative and engaging way.
What I loved most about using a ‘Where’s Wally’ book to teach grammar was the fact that not only did it provide the class with an exciting context, but it was also so accessible for every child in my class because it contains no words. Each person was able to use noun phrases to describe a character they could see in the book, making for an incredibly effective teaching resource and lesson.
I am very excited to use this book in school and make full use of the numerous opportunities that it offers from Reception through to Year six.
هذا الكتاب عبارة تمرين ممتاز لقوة الملاحظة. يحكي الكتاب قصة والي وأصدقائه الخمسة الذين ينطلقون في مغامرة، ويطلب من القارئ أن يعثر عليهم وعلى أشياءهم في وسط رسومات حافلة بمئات الشخصيات والأشياء.
Where’s Wally? by Martin Handford Age's I would use it for: 3+
This is a classic book which can either be thought of as a book without a plot, or one with many. Following the journey of Wally (or Waldo) or the other characters in many different settings.
I think that this is an exceptional book that can be used to encourage children to enjoy books. Although this book lacks a lot of writing I think that it is a great resource to accompany any lesson from ages 3 to 12.I would use it throughout primary to encourage speech, perhaps for students who are more reserved or have SEN. Picking a page at random, asking questions about the pictures and leading up to the child telling their own stories of why Wally is where he is, how they think he got there, where they think he might go to next?
I would photocopy certain pages from any of the series of books, to use as a drama activity. Children will be given a random scene from the book, working in groups to act out what they see. Children will then guess what country they are in. This will require research as the children will have to represent the cultures from the ‘still’ they are portraying.
For Early years and year 1-2 the book can be used to link with history. Children will record the events of one of the characters of their choice on a timeline. This will enrich children’s understanding of the world, discussing the different settings on each page.
The book can also be used implement the idea of tenses in year 1 English. Where was Wally? Using one picture, each child will be given a different character name from the book. Children will write a sentence about where they were. The class will then compare, guessing which character each student was writing about.
This can also be used as part of a foreign language lesson, starting from year 1 up to 6, based on the level of language devises taught. Students can use Wally to explain directions, prepositions and descriptive words relating to location, in a MFL lesson. Wally represents the concept of travel, the book can be used to help discuss geographic issues such as migration and population growth to KS1.
Wally, Waldo, Charlie, Walter, Holger, Valli, Willy, Hetti, and Effy. What do they have in common? They're all the name of a traveler who wears red and white stripes, jeans, glasses and brown shoes. Here in the States we know him as Waldo but he started his journey as Wally in Great Britain. The third book in the series by Martin Handford is The Great Waldo Search (also known as Where's Wally? 3: The Fantastic Journey) and was published in 1989.
The Great Waldo Search requires astute attention to detail. Each scene (spread across two pages) builds on the previous one, requiring the reader to search for a growing number of characters and items. The main focus though on every page is to find three things: Waldo, the Wizard Whitebeard and a scroll. There are also characters from previous scenes hidden in each of the scenes.
The scenes included are:
* The Gobbling Gluttons * The Battling Monks * The Carpet Flyers * The Great Ball-Game Players * The Ferocious Red Dwarves * The Nasty Nasties * The Fighting Forester * The Deep-Sea Divers * The Knights of the Magic Flag * The Unfriendly Giants * The Underground Hunters * The Land of Waldos
Sean and I have worked through the book together three times and we still haven't managed to find Waldo on every page. We are completely stumped on "The Ferocious Red Dwarves", "The Unfriendly Giants" and "The Underground Hunters."
This series is fun but, for my money, Hillary Knight's Where's Wallace is far superior. There is really no meat to any of the Waldo books and due, to their nature they are not suitable for read-alouds. However, some kids just adore them and I'm all for anything that connects kids with books.
How much do I love these? You can find me sitting in a bookstore of library, unwilling to check out because I'd have to put them down for a few minutes. Surprisingly, the PandaBat didn't really burn out on them.
Nach langer Suche habe ich diesen Schatz meiner Kindheit wiederentdeckt und die Begeisterung für Walter hat auch nach über 20 Jahren nicht nachgelassen. Mit den unheimlich detailverliebten Wimmelbildern von Martin Handford könnte ich auch heute noch Stunden zubringen. Daher steht nun auch mein Plan, die restlichen Walter-Bücher, die mir als Kind vorenthalten wurden, nachzuholen! Besonders gut gefallen haben mir die kämpfenden Mönche und die Ballspiel-Spieler. Das Land der Walters hat mich wiederum nah an die Verzweiflung gebracht, da ich den echten, schuhlosen Walter sehr lange nicht ausfindig machen konnte. Die Suche nach dem nett dreinschauenden Mann mit dem rot-weiß gestreiften Pullover kann einem auch im Erwachsenenalter noch einiges abverlangen. Außerdem ist mir aufgefallen, was für eine beruhigende Wirkung das Fahnden in den bunten Bildern auf mich hat. Deshalb an dieser Stelle ein starkes Plädoyer für Wimmelbilder!
Truly one of the most fascinating publications of the 20th century. I fondly recall being thoroughly engaged throughout the entire work, searching for the Waldo that hid so well. It brings me to tears reminiscing over the first time I picked up this book, wishing I could remember the once youthful joy I had felt upon my first read.
Where’s Waldo is a beginners book for children. It is fun interesting way to find Waldo who is hidden in picture. There are clues on each page that hints to find Waldo in the jumble of people and objects.
Classroom: I would use this in my classroom for students that have finished their work before other students. It will not only help the students increase their reading comprehension because of the hints that are needed to find Waldo. It will also help their mind sort through pictures to find hidden objects, but it will also help students not to distract others around them who are working. Once the student has found Waldo, they are to write a small story of where they might would hide Waldo.