Where’s Waldo? Santa Spotlight Search By Martin Handford

Where’s Waldo? Santa Spotlight Search

Martin Handford, Author and Illustrator

Candlewick Press, Activity Book, Sep. 24, 2021

Suitable for ages: 5-10 +

Themes: Santa, Holidays & Celebrations, Interactive Adventures, Activity Books

Publisher’s Synopsis: 

Christmas is coming, and Santa with it—if you can only find him! Luckily, Waldo fans have a cool wand to help them spotlight the jolly old guy in the dark.

Shake your sleigh bells, pull on your holiday sweater, and join in the festive madness! These night-time scenes are bustling with Santas getting ready for Christmas Eve. With the help of a magic slider to light up one spot at a time, can you find some very specific Santas—like the one whose stocking is threadbare? Or the ones who are slimmer than most? And by the way, where are Waldo and all his friends—Wenda, Odlaw, Wizard Whitebeard, and Woof? Featuring super-challenging searches as well as puzzles and games, Santa’s Spotlight Search promises many hours of merriment for seasoned Waldo fans and new followers alike.

Why I like this book:

Who doesn’t love Waldo? He’s timeless and full of good cheer in this edition. He brings back fond memories of sharing the Waldo books with my daughter, many years ago. And, yes adults will enjoy this holiday book.

It is the perfect travel book to take along on long car and plane trips to visit relatives. There are hours of fun in searching for all the different Santa’s. 

The magic slider is an interesting addition to the Waldo books.   There are special dark windows in the book that are illuminated when the child inserts the slider tool — it lights up just like a spotlight and challenges readers. It’s a lot of fun!  Perfect holiday gift book!

Martin Handford, the man behind the mind-boggling Waldo books, began his career as a freelance illustrator specializing in drawing crowd scenes. Handford’s Where’s Waldo? books have been immensely successful, selling more than 72 million copies worldwide in over 50 countries and 30 languages, including Egyptian, Korean and Hebrew. Each Waldo picture takes Martin several months to draw.” I can’t tell you how pleased I am that Waldo has taken on a life of his own,” he 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.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPBF) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s website.

**With the holidays approaching, this will be my last PPBF post in 2021.  I will resume my PPBF reviews Jan. 7, 2022.

*Review copy provided by Candlewick Press in exchange for a review.