MacPelican's American Adventure; The Stone in the Sword

Taking his whole clan with him, Hector embarks on MacPelican's American Adventure to show off ten of his great new inventions. Children are invited to join him as he travels from New York to Wyoming, Alaska to Arizona and finally to the Grand Louisiana Exhibition. In minutely detailed puzzles, similar to those in the Where's Wally series, children are set the task of searching for tiny characters, solving spot-the-difference posers, and identifying sections of the picture looked at from unusual angles. The Stone in the Sword is a tongue-in-cheek Arthurian story which sees Leofric, squire to Sir Garderobe, searching for an emerald which was stolen by his mischievous pet monkey after falling from the handle of his master's sword. Each colour cartoon-like spread sets the reader the job of searching the craftily disguised pictures for various objects and comic characters. Graded into three levels of difficulty, both these titles are from the most challenging level. Although described as fiendish, the books are certainly easier on the eye than the later Where's Wally books, whilst being challenging enough to keep young children amused on a rainy day.