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Things to Spot in Famous Picture Books

Secret Things to Spot in 14 Famous Picture Books

Posted on May 3, 2017April 29, 2024 by Pragmatic Mom

It’s fun to discover hidden things to spot or personal references in beloved picture books. My husband and I delighted in searching for the mouse in Goodnight Moon with our kids. I think it was my husband who pointed out the red balloon hidden in Goodnight, Gorilla to me. After that, the hunt was on. We loved to figure out what surprises illustrators left to be discovered.

How about you? What things have you noticed in picture books that are hidden away, or, a signature reference, in plain sight by your favorite illustrators? Thanks for sharing!

 

Secret Things to Spot in 14 Famous Picture Books

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd

things to find in Goodnight Moon

Look for a white mouse on every color page spread and also check out the clock in the room. It takes the mother bunny a full hour to put her baby to bed.

Goodnight, Gorilla by Peggy Rathman

things to find in Goodnight, Gorilla

Look for the red balloon on every spread. It’s hard to find! We also like to spot the mouse who’s hauling a banana. Finally, check out the photos in the zookeeper’s house. It’s baby pictures of the zoo animals.

Arthur series by Marc Brown

Things to find in Arthur series by Marc Brown

Marc Brown hides the names of his kids, Tucker, Tolon, and Eliza. Sometimes his wife, Laurie, is included too.

The Mysterious Tadpole by Steven Kellogg

Things to find in The Mysterious Tadpole

Look in all of his books for his dog, Pinkerton, and cat, Secondhand Rose.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Jan Brett has hedgehog in all her books

She hides a hedgehog in all her books.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Waiting for Wings by Lois Elhert

Things to find in Lois Ehlert's books

Lois Elhert hides a heart in each of her books.

Waiting for Wings by Lois Elhert

The Extinct Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by Ralph Masiello

Jerry Pallotta hidden in The Extinct Alphabet Book Ralph Masiello

Ralph hides pictures of Jerry and others in his artwork.

The Extinct Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta

 

In The Skull Alphabet Book, Ralph hid 43 United States presidents.

The Skull Alphabet Book

The Skull Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta's Alphabet Books)

Curious George books by H. A. Rey

Things to find in Curious George books

His black cocker spaniel is in each of Curious George books.

Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg

things to find in Chris Van Allsburg books

Chris Van Allsburg includes a white dog with a patch over one eye in all his books.

Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

spot white scottie dog in Maurice Sendak's books

Look for Maurice Sendak’s terrier, “Scottie,” in each of his books.

Where the wild things are, maurice sendak

Miss Nelson series James Marshall

Harry Allard has Texas Flag in all his books

Illustrator James Marshall includes the flag of Texas in each of his books.

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

Caps for Sale Tree looks like a giant hand

It may not be deliberate, but look for the big hand in the tree.

Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina

 To examine any book more closely at Amazon, please click on image of book.

Hidden (or not) Things to Spot in Famous Picture Books

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20 thoughts on “Secret Things to Spot in 14 Famous Picture Books”

  1. Mother of 3 says:
    May 3, 2017 at 7:42 am

    So fun! We used to read a book series through Usborne called Farmyard tales and they hid a tiny yellow duck on each page. My boys loved looking for him on each page!

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      July 15, 2017 at 12:49 pm

      Hi Mother of 3,
      I will have to find that one!

      Reply
  2. Sue Ready says:
    May 3, 2017 at 8:42 am

    Loved loved recent blog posting as I’ve read all book listed many times and never spotted these hidden pictures

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      July 15, 2017 at 12:50 pm

      Hi Sue,
      It’s such a fun thing to discover, isn’t it? Some are new to me like the heart in Lois Ehlert’s books.

      Reply
  3. maryanne @ mama smiles says:
    May 3, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    I spy several favorites in this post! I love the things Jan Brett hides in her books.

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      July 15, 2017 at 12:50 pm

      Hi MaryAnne,
      I didn’t realize she hid a hedgehog. Makes me want to re-read all her books!

      Reply
  4. Penny Parker Klostermann says:
    May 3, 2017 at 9:17 pm

    This is too much fun!!!

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      July 15, 2017 at 12:50 pm

      Thanks Penny!

      Reply
  5. Patricia Tilton says:
    May 4, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    Enjoyed this post. I certainly missed some great hidden things in some of my favorite books.

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      July 15, 2017 at 12:52 pm

      Hi Pat,
      I didn’t know about some of these until I researched this post too. It’s such fun to go back and reread the books.

      Reply
  6. Patricia Nozell says:
    May 6, 2017 at 1:50 pm

    I loved seeing all of the hidden wonders & learning the reasons for them.

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      July 15, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      Thanks so much Patricia!

      Reply
  7. British American says:
    May 9, 2017 at 10:23 am

    Julia Donaldson books illustrated by Axel Sheffler have the Gruffalo hiding in them. The ones illustrated by David Roberts have cross over illustrations too – like Tyrannosaurus Drip shows up in another book.
    Mo Willems hides the pigeon in his books. Leonardo the Terrible Monster shows up in Knuffle Bunny Too.
    Fergus the dog shows up in David Shannon books.
    My kids love spotting things like this. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      July 15, 2017 at 1:00 pm

      This is so great British American! Thanks for sharing! I remember also that one Elephant and Piggie had the Pigeon hidden on the end pages. That was fun for us to find! Your kids are on it!!!

      Reply
  8. Betty says:
    May 9, 2017 at 1:15 pm

    Denise Fleming’s book, The Everything Book, has 119 ladybugs spread throughout the book. In William Shakespeare & the Globe, by Aliki, she and her husband are pictured in the audience scene at the end of the book, along with several of their real-life friends. Donald Crew added himself to Night at the Fair; he’s the guy with the camera on the right hand page of the double spread Race-A-Way Fun scene.

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      July 15, 2017 at 1:01 pm

      This is so great! Thanks so much for sharing Betty!! I will have to find those books!

      Reply
  9. Hidden Gems says:
    March 7, 2018 at 11:29 pm

    In Caralyn Buehner and Mark Buehner’s SNOWMEN books, they hide several animals such as a bunny, cat, T-rex, and more hidden snowmen on each page. The only issue is that some of them are hidden too well and we’ve never found them! But still super fun and gorgeous artwork. I love Mo Willems’ Pigeon popping up here and there in his other books. I’m still looking for more like the mouse in Goodnight Moon where there is one simple, repeated image on each page…

    Reply
    1. Pragmatic Mom says:
      April 26, 2018 at 11:02 am

      Hi Hidden Gems,
      Now I have to find those! I don’t know that series so I am excited to read these books. Thanks so much for sharing!

      Reply
      1. Emily Robbins says:
        October 22, 2018 at 11:17 pm

        Yes, Mark Buehner is the best! My Monster Mama has so many fun hidden pictures and repeated animals on every page. We must have read it dozens of times before realizing, then the hunt was on!

        Reply
        1. Pragmatic Mom says:
          December 18, 2018 at 4:53 pm

          Hi Emily,
          I love books like that where you have to figure out that there are hidden things.

          Reply

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