When I'm Not Looking

by Farren Phillips

An interactive detective story with fun fill-in-the-blanks and laugh out loud details.

Legs loves her pet duck. But Legs isn’t quite sure what her duck gets up to when she’s not looking. Her duck may want Legs to think that she is just sitting around a pond eating bread all day, but Legs knows better than that! She is certain that her duck is more likely dressing like a knight and fighting dragons, starting an army of ducks, building a rocket, and even trying on Leg’s best pants.

Young readers will love joining Legs on her quest to solve the mystery. Using their creativity, imagination, and detective skills, they can help Legs find the truth about what her duck does when she’s not looking.

What to Expect:

Families Love Pets: This exuberant story of finding out what the pet is up to is perfect for pet lovers.

Creative Interaction: Shows playful interaction of readers’ help and imagination, and demonstrates that stories can be found all around us.

Detective Theme with Humorous Twist: Delights mystery lovers and brings out the inner detective in young readers with its search-and-find element and bright illustrations,

Irresistible Artwork: Observant readers will be delighted to spot the fun and charming details and explore every corner of the surroundings.

Thinking Like A Philosopher: This book is a good tool for parents and teachers to get children thinking outside of the box about the world and what is happening beyond their bubble.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published May 18, 2021

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute idea but the interactive elements completely derailed the story. Also, the book asking you to draw and write in it make it more difficult to be housed in a public library, so good for home use but not for public use.

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay this book is hilarious and fun and so memorable! Kids will love revisiting this over and over. I love the core story -- a girl is trying to solve a mystery: what does her pet duck DO when she's not looking? She searches for answers and kids will have fun spotting things along the way to try and solve the mystery themselves. The book is also interactive on another level -- there are fun asides, search-and-find elements, story prompts for the child to fill-in-the-blank with their own ideas. I love it! The illustrations are vibrant and fun. The pages are often busy but it totally works with the story.

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book by Yeehoo Press. Opinions are my own.

[Angie Quantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is going on behind Legs when she is not looking? So many things! Detail-filled illustrations captured my eyes as I read this brand new picture book by Farren Phillips. Legs is sure her duck is up to something, and readers get to help solve the mystery of what. This book is filled with plenty of humor, every-day disasters, and opportunities for interaction with the story. Readers will discover something new and different during each read-aloud. Fun read!

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is When I’m Not Looking by Farren Phillips, a ridiculous and hilarious interactive picture book that asks a question for the ages: what do our pets do when we’re not looking?

Young philosopher Legs has big questions – questions so big that even her Moms can’t answer them! But the one that truly troubles her? What does her pet duck do when she’s not looking? While the mild-mannered duck may seem like your average feather-brain, Legs cannot help but wonder if it’s all an act, and if her pet duck is in fact doing dastardly, dangerous, or disgusting things! Is she growing ten legs? Wearing Legs’s best pants? Gathering an army of ducks to take over the world? There are more outrageous things that even Legs cannot predict… and that’s where the reader comes in.

Innovative and delightful. While all of Legs’s hilarious hypotheses on her pet duck’s unobserved activities are wonderfully wacky, what makes this book unique are the interactive elements. While some traditional interactions are included – such as seek and finds throughout the quite cluttered house that Legs shares with her Moms – readers are also invited to draw, sketch, and invent their own crazy predictions of what the pet duck will do, including fill-in-the-blanks and prompts to provide drawings, fingerprints, coins, and a stamp. This allows each reader to truly make the story their own, while preserving their own silly ideas for future readings. It’s a clever concept that Phillips employs wonderfully though both art and text, and we were excited to imagine and create along with the story we were enjoying. But beware: potty humor again. Never my favorite, but comedic gold for the six-year-old. The length is great for a storytime, and JJ really loved this one. So as much as potty humor will always make me cringe, I can’t deny that this one is incredible unique and a whole lot of fun. Overall, Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids who like finding hidden images in interactive books have another cute choice in this quirky book. A kid named Legs, a self-proclaimed philosopher, has deep questions. Among them is: “What does my pet duck do when I’m not looking?!” And they have a lot of theories – robbing a bank, going to the toilet on their mom’ head – and they are all very silly. There are lots of places where a kid can write or draw in answers to the many questions, which makes this book problematic for libraries – but fun for the kid who owns it! Each busy spread has a query, such as “How many books can you find on this page?” with space for an written answer. At the end, Legs realizes they have more important things to worry about, as we watch their cat flying off on a rocket.

Fun digital art has so many amusing things to look at and for, for the reader who enjoys a hunt. I like that ‘thinking outside the box’ is a theme, and that big words, such as ‘philosopher’ are defined. It’s great that Legs doesn’t come across as male or female, so any kid can read themselves in the character, and they have two moms. Answers to the hidden image counts are at the end.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

>>> I received a complementary copy of this book via Edelweiss. This in no way influenced my review <<<

Oh my gosh, this little interactive book is so hilarious! It's a book about a 6-year-old named Legs who is convinced her pet duck is up to shady things when she's not looking. This duck is a superhero, crime-fighting, dragon-riding duck!

The majority of the book, Legs is concerned with what her pet duck is doing (and wow, does she have an imagination!). But she doesn't notice the shifty, devious, criminal-mastermind cat.

The illustrations in this book are gorgeous, each page doubling as a picture search that has you trying to find different items. And then there are the fill-in-the-blanks spots. You definitely get to use your own imagination in this book, just like Legs.

Highly recommended for young readers and anyone who enjoys picture puzzles.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy from the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

This is a fun book for children. It’s about a girl named Legs who wonders what her pet duck does when she’s not looking. She has some pretty silly ideas that kids will enjoy. There are also activities such as fill in the blank or finding certain things on a page.

The illustrations are great. Some of the pages are so busy that you can sit and look at it for quite a while before you see everything…or find what you’re looking for! The last page of the book shows a wall with pictures with the search items circled which will be helpful.

Children of all ages will enjoy When I’m not Looking. The hardcover might be preferable to the e-book so children can fill in the blanks, etc.

[Stephanie Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute book. The illustrations are so cute and the premise is really fun. It’s all about a little girl named Legs who wonders what her pet duck does when she isn't looking. So you spend the book with her as she tries to figure out if her duck is actually doing anything sneaky behind her back. The story is interactive as it has fill in the blanks and well as wanting you to find specific things on the page like an I Spy book. All in all, a fun read and the interactive elements where really fun to do. This will be very good for kids who get bored reading and need something to keep them engaged so they want to finish the book.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book starring a suspicious kid named Legs who is certain their duck is up to something. It's a great book to own because it invites readers to fill in the blanks and doodle in it and add their own flair to it. Some kids will really gobble this up, and it doesn't hurt that Legs has two moms. My GOODNESS are they hoarders. Started to get the sweats just looking at the rooms in that house. Just means there's lots for kids to search and find!

[Bedtime Stories with Dessi! · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a FUN book to read. It had my kids and I entertained from beginning to end. The story itself is hilarious. The imagination that Legs has brings the story to life and reminds you of how far a child's imagination can take them. The interaction in each page really is fun and there is so much going on that it tightly holds your attention. This is a very clever and well put together story. I would 100% recommend this to everyone.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is tons of fun with some of the best re-readability of any picture book I've read. The artwork offers so much. I love that it took about halfway through the book to figure out what was going on and then, feeling the need to go back to catch up, I found so much I missed the first time through. Clever and fun. This one's a winner!

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a interactive detective story with fill-in-the-blanks and look and find details. It is imaginative and fun to read aloud, while being hugely interactive. There is a touch of potty humor that you may or may not feel comfortable with, but kids will certainly find entertaining. A unique book for observant readers who love to shout and read along.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just what is that goofy duck up to? Wacky science-themed fun in the vein of "Dexter's Laboratory." Although, this book does actively encourage young readers to draw and tape things on the pages, so perhaps it won't survive long in our public library?!

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I'm Not Looking by Farren Phillips is a brilliant and hilarious picture book! This book has everything I love: suspense, humor, detective, goofy animals, very detailed rooms, and did I mention duck?

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Danielle Hammelef · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky and interactive picture book with so much for the reader to seek and find and laugh about what's really happening behind Legs' back.

[Hollowspine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun story to read together with a child. I love that the main character has two mom's but that just is, it's not part of the plot of the book. It's a great example of ways to incorporate creativity and early science skills while reading together in a totally easy and fun way. The story also lends well to multiple readings, each time the readers can spot out different things without it feeling like a chore for adults (especially since repetition is very important for early learning). Kids will have a great time reading the story and imagining what else the duck could be doing in the fill-in-the-blank sections. I could also see this book going well for multiple ages, a good read-along for family story times, even the adults will get a kick out of the funny antics!