Magic Eye 25th Anniversary Book

by Cheri Smith

New York Times Bestselling Property! The Magic Eye 25th Anniversary Book commemorates 25 years of delighting children and adults worldwide with its amazing 3D images.

New York Times best-selling Magic Eye 3D optical illusions are back with all-new images. Through Magic Eye's patented 3D technology, viewers can find a full-color image on each page, with a smaller black-and-white image of the "hidden" scene in the back of the book to help solve each optical illusion.

56 pages, Hardcover

Published November 6, 2018

Reviews

[Denise みか Hutchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wanted my very own Magic Eye book, ever since they first came out when I was in elementary school. We never could afford one and it wasn't until this year that I realized, hey, I'm an adult with means now, I can totally buy my own Magic Eye book! Imagine the pleasant surprise it was to see, when I went on Amazon to shop for one, that a 25th anniversary book was available for preorder. Of course, I ordered it! It was just as fun to look at these amazing images as a 32-year-old as it was as a third-grader. I brought the book to Thanksgiving a few days ago and it went over well with my family--three generations wanted to take a peek--it's a great coffee table book! I enjoyed reading the brief introductory notes at the beginning. They included some interesting tidbits without taking too long before getting to the meat of the book. And it's great that they include a cheat sheet at the end, so you can get a little help if you can't decipher an image.

[Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw this displayed at the library the other day and checked it out in a fit of nostalgia. I remember when Magic Eye was a thing, ordering a copy of the first book from a scholastic order form in 5th grade, and I was a little shocked/disturbed by the reminder that this was 25 years ago. Introduced by a short retrospective that seemed more like a corporate promotion than a discussion of, say, how the Magic Eye illusion was developed, we are instead informed that the images have appeared on such things as Live! With Regis and Kelly and in syndicated newspapers (but no mention of the iconic scene in the movie Mallrats, for some reason).

I was always fortunate enough to be able to focus onto the 3d illusions with minimal effort (maybe because I was used to zoning out and staring off into space) and these still work the same way twenty-five years later. Not everyone is so lucky, as seen in other reviews, so that limitation is still a part of the experience as well. Even I had a little trouble with a couple, usually the ones with detailed backgrounds that kind of disrupted my field of vision.

Still, it was pretty interesting to see the advances and evolution of the Magic Eye form, the illusions seemed a lot less jaggy and blocky than in the past, and there are some interesting use of “floaters” to make some of the images seem even more detailed. In terms of themes and image choices, though, things still seemed pulled straight out of the nineties, like vaguely recognizable world landmarks or dogs playing poker. Perhaps it’s just the very retroness of the form that makes it feel so dated, but one has to wonder if advances in cg tech has left the minor gimmick of the Magic Eye behind, as there really isn’t much here aside from that nostalgic feeling. There’s only so many vaguely holographic looking cats or sports players that one can look at without the whole thing starting to drag.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at the library for nostalgia's sake. I used to have all the magic eye books and a bunch of posters on my wall as a kid in the 90s. My favorite picture is the hot air balloons. I wasn't fond of the pictures that are half normal/half 3d, they don't look right when you divert your eyes and they don't look right when you look at them normally. Cute trip down memory lane.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun illustrations—more complex than some of the other books. Maybe it’s just because this was the third of these books I’ve “read”, but these images were easier to make appear than some of the others.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun trip down memory lane! I’ve always been able to “see” these pictures instantly and I'm happy to report that hadn’t changed.

4 stars just for the pure enjoyment this gave me while I was sick.

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like magic eye.

[Erikka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dog heavy. Also hella nostalgic. Had two of these on my wall growing up bc it was such a 90s fad, there were stores dedicated to Magic Eye pictures. I still love them.

[Pug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catching up on 25 years (yikes) of Magic Eye.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

so I just needed one last book to fill my reading challenge so here is was, thank you Kyra for doing this with me

[Kyra Martino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I genuinely read this book to complete my reading challenge for the year. But still a fun time