May 24 – Scavenger Hunt Day

Happy Scavenger Hunt Day!

Who doesn’t love a good scavenger hunt. Some are as easy as an Easter Egg Hunt, others more complicated like following riddled clues to find the prize, while some require going door-to-door to find specific items on a list. Whatever type you enjoy, today is the day to don your sleuthing hat and scavenge to your heart’s content.  Even if you can’t actually go out for your hunt, you can still celebrate with a picture book or two.  Check out the ones below!

Where’s Waldo? written and illustrated by Martin Handford (1987) is the first in a series of the addictive searches for the tall bespectacled traveler wearing a red and white striped shirt, blue jeans, and carrying a walking stick. He looks the same on every page, you’d think he’d be easy to spot… but no! Waldo can be found walking the beaches, on busy city streets, or in crowded subway. Once you know where Waldo is on every page, it’s fun to challenge each other to find other specific objects or people in each scene.

I Spy: A Book of Picture Riddles written by Jean Marzollo and photographed by Walter Wick (1992) is a cross between the traditional “I Spy” game we played in the car as a kid and the riddle-solving Scavenger hunts we played in teams to find the prize. Each page has a riddle to read and solve in order to know what you’re looking for, then of course you actually have to find it on the page amongst a multitude of small objects.  It’s trickier than it looks, and lots of fun to do! There are several I Spy Riddle Books to choose from, some made specifically for younger children and many for older children and adults.