I see

The two brothers from Cepeda's previous contributions to the "I Like to Read" series (Up, 2017; I Dig, 2019) return here in a story about exploring the outdoors near their home. After they find a microscope and magnifying glass in their attic, the younger boy sets off with the magnifying glass, and subsequent pages show the boy poking around the yard accompanied by the phrase "I see." As the illustrations zoom in on his explorations, the artwork and text identifies what he finds, such as ants or a butterfly, framed and enlarged by the glass. For example, a spread with "I see" shows him approaching a tree, and the next zeroes in on a nest he spies there: "I see eggs." The book concludes with the boy back at home and his brother at the microscope--"We see"--hinting there's potentially even more to observe. The spare text, repetition, and cheerful, richly textured art make for an upbeat, accessible offering for new readers that may also pique interest in enjoying the natural world with a new perspective.

Two kids, probably siblings, explore their surrounding world through magnification.While the older one remains inside with a microscope, the younger prefers the outside, examining all with a large hand-held magnifying glass. "I see," the kid declares, focusing on several insects and animals while peering through the glass. A large, blue-black ant grins up through the glass as the child states, "I see an ant." A butterfly, a snail, and robins' eggs similarly appear through the glass, all narrated in the short, patterned text. Arriving home with discoveries crawling and flapping behind, the explorer now declares, "We see," to the older child. The minimalist text is perfect for emerging readers, allowing children the ability to successfully read a whole book. Each repetitive sentence with its additional new word is coupled with recognizable picture cues to help in decoding. Cepeda's characteristically energetic artwork offers sharp-edged, jagged lines that give it a scratch-art look. The siblings are dressed nearly identically, in blue shorts and red polo shirts, and they have tousled brown hair, beige skin, and big smiles.The book's simplicity guarantees achievement for beginning readers. (Picture book/early reader. 4-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.