Wick, Walter

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WICK, Walter

PERSONAL: Born in CT. Education: Paier College of Art, Hamden, CT, graduated, 1973.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Scholastic Books, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

CAREER: Writer and photographer. Worked as a lab technician and photographer's assistant, Hartford, CT; photographer for Discover, Psychology Today, and Games.

WRITINGS:

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Little Numbers, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Christmas, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy a Book of Picture Riddles, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Fun House: A Book ofPicture Riddles, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Mystery: A Book of PictureRiddles, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Fantasy: A Book of PictureRiddles, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1994.

Veo Navidad, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy School Days: A Book ofPicture Riddles, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy More than Meets the Eye, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Spooky Night, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1996.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Challenger: A Book ofPicture Riddles, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Super Challenger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1997.

Walter Wick's Optical Tricks, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Little Animals, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Little Wheels, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Gold Challenger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Little Christmas, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Treasure Hunt, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Little Numbers, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Spooky Mansion, Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Little Letters, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Extreme Challenger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Junior: Puppet Playhouse, (CD-ROM), Scholastic (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Year-round Challenger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Little Bunnies, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Treasure Hunt, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Can You See What I See?: Pictures Puzzles to Search and Solve, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Jean Marzollo) I Spy Ultimate Challenger, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Walter Wick is best known for his collaborative effort with Jean Marzollo on the "I Spy" series of picture riddles for children. In almost twenty different titles, critics point out, Wick's exceptional photographs sumptuously illustrate this series of visual exploration books for children grades one to seven. In addition to his work on the "I Spy" series, Wick has also created several titles on his own, including Walter Wick's Optical Tricks and A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder and Can You See What I See?

The "I Spy" books' format includes a short riddle by Marzollo, and an accompanying photograph from Wick, normally chock full of objects referred to in the riddle. The intended result is to inspire a child to hunt within the photograph for the objects in the riddle. This will prove invaluable for children as it assists their learning of shapes, colors, numbers, and other visual phenomena. The cleverness of the text and inviting photography make books in the series popular for children of many ages. The focus of each book is slightly different. I Spy Mystery includes dramatic lighting, many ominous masks, and views through keyholes. I Spy Fun House presents clowns, fun-house mirrors, and musician's props.

While the early books were geared primarily toward a younger audience, some of the later books, such as I Spy Gold Challenger and I Spy Super Challenger, are written for a slightly higher level of reader and the material is suitably more challenging. Walter Wick's Optical Tricks and A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder represent a break from the "I Spy" format and rely more on visual trickery and scientific fact respectively. In Optical Tricks, Wick uses his highly developed style of detail-driven photography to trick the eyes and mind. Some images appear to change before your very eyes as Wick introduces the reader to several anomalies of visual perception. Daniel J. Brabander of Horn Book described Wick's technique by saying that "Wick's elegant yet bold style of photography is ideally suited for the task of visual deception."

A Drop of Water focuses upon the analysis of water as it changes properties and appearance from vapor, to frost, to even forming a mini-prism. Wick relies upon the use of extreme magnification and stop-action technology to capture water in its many fascinating forms. While the book was well received, some critics felt that the descriptions of the photographs are too brief to accurately describe the illustrated transformations. Carolyn Angus of School Library Journal wrote, "Wick clearly shows that science and art both offer ways to observe the world around us. However, the visuals may stimulate a level of curiosity that will not be satisfied by the brief text."

In 2002, Wick published Can You See What I See?, another puzzle book for young readers. However, in this case, while the puzzles may seem simple, each rhyme ends with a challenge to discover the puzzle within the puzzle, or a maze. School Library Journal's Marianne Saccardi wrote that "Wick's fans will relish his explanation of his work at the end of the book and may even find some puzzle-solving hints. This is 'I Spy' and much more!" A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that "These pages are nearly guaranteed to keep kids happily occupied for hours and coming back for return visits."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 1992; May 15, 1993; January 1, 1999; October 1, 1997; September 15, 1996; December 1, 1994; December 1, 1995.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 1992.

Horn Book, March, 1997; September, 1998.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, October 20, 1996.

New York Times, May 18, 1997.

New York Times Book Review, November 15, 1998.

New Yorker, December 13, 1993.

Publishers Weekly, January 6, 1992; April 19, 1993; August 23, 1993; October 17, 1994; July 24, 1995; July 1, 1996; June 29, 1998; January 7, 2002, review of Can You See What I See?: Pictures Puzzles to Search and Solve, p. 63.

School Library Journal, April, 1992; April, 1993; October, 1994; October, 1995; March, 1997; October, 1997; March, 2002, Marianne Saccardi, review of Can You See What I See?: Pictures Puzzles to Search and Solve, p. 223.