Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews

Main Street Magic

Main Street Magic

Ingela P. Arrhenius
Novelty Board Book
For ages 4 to 6
Chronicle Books, 2017   ISBN: 978-1452161570

Here we are on Main Street and we are going to visit the bakery, the fish market, the hair salon, the museum, and the circus. In each place there are things to look for that are hidden, and there are also things that are not what they seem.

We begin in the bakery. Come inside and you will see that the lady behind the counter is giving one of the patrons a bag full of something. What is inside the bag, we wonder, and when we look we find that the bag contains three delicious looking croissants. The baker is just bringing out a fresh batch of croissants on a tray, but there is something under the tray that he is hiding from us. What is it? When we look under the tray we see that the baker is carrying a cup of coffee. It would seem that he needs a little pick me up. On the wall there is a sign that tells us what the pastries of the day are. The sign looks innocent enough but it is hiding a secret.

Our next stop is the fish market. Be careful because there is a fish in a tank that has very sharp teeth. Everything at the fish shop looks pretty normal, but it turns out that there is something very unexpected under our feet. What do you suppose it is?

Everything looks perfectly normal at the hair salon too, until you look a little closer, which is when you find out that all is not what it seems.

This delightful book contains more than thirty lift-the-flaps and pop-ups that young readers will enjoy exploring. They will have a grand time seeing what is hidden in the artwork, and will enjoy the little touches of humor that can be found throughout the adventure.