Photographer & Author Profile
Tana Hoban
21 Books
Tana Hoban was an American photographer and children's book creator known for her clear, striking photo-concept books. She used her camera to help young children notice the shapes, numbers, letters, and everyday details of the world around them. Her board books, such as Black on White, remain staples for infant visual development. Through engaging titles like I Read Signs and Count and See, she transformed ordinary streetscapes into visual learning adventures. Her photography continues to encourage children to explore their surroundings with a curious eye.
Do words like cylinders and spheres sound complicated? They won't anymore once you realize you see these 3D shapes every single day! Step into a stunning photographic gallery that proves advanced geometry is actually hiding in your own neighborhood. A bright orange traffic cone, a perfectly round floating bubble, and a sturdy square building block are all fantastic examples of these mathematical forms. As you explore the crisp, vibrant images, you will easily recognize the everyday objects that make up our threedimensional world. Challenge yourself to spot the cubes in your house and the spheres in your yard. It is an eye-opening visual adventure that brings complex shapes right down to earth!
6-8 Years
24 Pages
Get ready to play a wonderful guessing game with your eyes! At first glance, you only see a tiny, mysterious piece of a photograph through a special cut-out hole. Is it a furry animal? A bumpy shell? A shiny vehicle? Turn the page, and the full picture magically reveals itself! This clever visual puzzle invites you to examine the small details of familiar objects before seeing the whole exciting image. The crisp, beautiful photographs make everyday items look fresh and surprising. You will love testing your observation skills and challenging your friends to guess what is hiding behind the peek-through holes. Jump in and see the world from a completely different perspective!
6-8 Years
40 Pages
What colors make up your world? Step into a bright and beautiful gallery of everyday objects, sorted by their brilliant colors! Each page brings together fascinating items like shiny yellow toys, crisp green leaves, bright red apples, and cool blue ribbons. This striking visual journey groups ordinary things in extraordinary ways, showing just how colorful our daily lives really are. As you explore the crisp, vibrant photographs, you can search for your favorite toys and treats while discovering new connections between different items. It is a perfect adventure for curious observers who love to explore the rich, vivid shades that surround us every single day. See how many colorful things you can identify!
6-8 Years
24 Pages
Open your eyes and look around—you are completely surrounded by shapes! From the rectangular bricks on a building to the circular metal of a manhole cover, geometry is woven into everything we see. This exciting, wordless photographic journey challenges you to find the hidden forms scattered throughout your daily life. Can you spot the triangles, stars, hearts, and squares hiding in plain sight? Explore photographs of cozy chairs, shiny hair barrettes, and busy outdoor scenes to see how many different outlines you can identify. Once you start looking closely at the brilliant pictures, you will realize that the entire world is one giant, fascinating puzzle made entirely of shapes!
6-8 Years
36 Pages
Look closely at the world around you! Have you ever noticed how many things are shaped like circles and squares? From the round wheels on a shiny bicycle to the square signs that guide us down the street, shapes are hiding in plain sight. In this fascinating photo adventure, you will travel through everyday places and spot the hidden geometry all around you. The brilliant photographs capture familiar objects like cooking pots, building blocks, and street signs, showing off their perfect curves and sharp corners. Get ready to train your eyes to see your neighborhood in a whole new way. Once you start looking for circles and squares, you will never be able to stop finding them!
6-8 Years
40 Pages
Have you ever wondered exactly what it means to go over, under, or through something? Find out by exploring your neighborhood through the lens of a camera! This clever photographic journey takes you on an adventure to discover how we move through the space around us. You will see kids jumping over fire hydrants, crawling under fences, and walking through tunnels. The stunning black-and-white pictures make these important directional ideas incredibly easy to understand. As you examine each scene, you can practice spotting exactly where the people and objects are located. It is a fantastic way to learn about the space you occupy and how to describe your own daily movements!
6-8 Years
32 Pages
Is the gate open or closed? Is the basket empty or full? Are you looking at the front or the back? Discover the fascinating world of opposites hidden in everyday outdoor scenes! This striking collection of photographs takes you on a visual treasure hunt through city streets, sandy beaches, and quiet backyards. Without using a single word, the bright images pair together opposite ideas perfectly. You will see big and small, up and down, and so much more. Challenge your brain by figuring out the exact opposite relationship in each set of pictures. It is a brilliant way to sharpen your observation skills and learn how different things compare to one another in the world around you!
6-8 Years
32 Pages
Step outside and take a walk down a busy street to see how many signs you can read! Everywhere you look, bold colors and big letters are giving instructions, warning of danger, or welcoming you inside. From bright red STOP signs to friendly open banners, this photographic tour features thirty familiar markers you might see in your own neighborhood. You will learn to recognize the shapes, colors, and words that keep our towns running safely and smoothly. Practice reading the bold text and understanding the important messages they deliver. Next time you take a walk or ride in the car, you will be a master at spotting and reading the signs that guide our daily lives!
6-8 Years
32 Pages
Look closely at the world around you and see how many things you can count! From a single shiny fire hydrant to a massive pile of one hundred peas, numbers are everywhere if you know how to look. This exciting photographic adventure guides you from one to fifteen, then by tens all the way up to one hundred. You will count everyday items like windows on a building, seeds in a watermelon, and leaves on a tree. The striking black-and-white pictures make each object pop, helping you practice your counting skills while discovering the beauty in ordinary things. Grab this book and start counting everything you see, whether you are in your house or exploring the great outdoors!
6-8 Years
41 Pages
Put on your hard hat and step into the noisy, exciting world of a real construction site! If you love massive machines and powerful trucks, this is your VIP pass to see them in action. Get up close to thirteen incredible pieces of earth-moving equipment, including giant bulldozers, towering cranes, and sturdy forklifts. The crisp, full-color photographs capture the roaring power of these fascinating vehicles as they dig, lift, and build. You will discover exactly how each heavy machine does its special job to tear down old structures and construct amazing new buildings. It is a thrilling photographic journey that will make you feel like you are right there in the middle of the dust and the dirt!
6-8 Years
42 Pages
Get ready for a vibrant adventure through the colors of the rainbow! Can you spot the bright red umbrella on a rainy day? How about the cheerful yellow taxi zipping down the street, or the cool blue sneakers waiting by the door? This wordless journey challenges you to find the bold primary colors hiding in ordinary places. As you turn the pages, you will discover stunning photographs of city scenes, playful animals, and familiar objects, all bursting with brilliant shades. Look at the color dots at the bottom of each page and try to match them to the objects in the picture. It is a fantastic visual game that makes exploring your neighborhood feel like a vivid treasure hunt!
6-8 Years
36 Pages
Discover the magic of crisp, bright shapes shining against a dark background! In this striking visual adventure, familiar objects take on a bold new look. You will see the clear white outline of a galloping horse, the distinct shape of a tiny baby bottle, and the sails of a beautiful boat, all popping off a solid black page. These powerful, high-contrast images are perfectly designed to capture your attention and make the details of each object stand out completely. It is an extraordinary way to practice identifying everyday items and spotting the unique outlines of animals and toys. Enjoy this captivating puzzle for the eyes that turns ordinary silhouettes into a fascinating guessing game!
6-8 Years
24 Pages
What does it mean to be completely full, and how is that different from being entirely empty? Step into a world of striking black-and-white photographs that bring fifteen pairs of opposite concepts to life! You will see children pushing heavy carts and pulling playful wagons. You will spot the front of a busy train and the very back of the final car. By looking closely at these clear, real-life pictures, you will instantly understand how these different ideas relate to one another. Practice guessing the opposite of each image before you even turn the page. This beautiful photographic journey is the perfect way to master new words and sharpen your observational skills!
6-8 Years
40 Pages
Geometry is not just for the classroom—it is everywhere you look! Join a photographic treasure hunt to find the hidden circles, triangles, and squares scattered throughout the real world. You will spot perfectly round floating bubbles, sharp triangular sails on boats, and tall square windows on city buildings. The stunning photographs prove that our everyday surroundings are actually made up of fascinating mathematical shapes. Whether you are looking at a stack of heavy pipes or the tires on a car, you will begin to see these familiar forms jumping out at you. Challenge yourself to identify every geometric outline on the page, and then see how many shapes you can spot in your own backyard!
6-8 Years
40 Pages
Have you ever noticed how a puddle can mirror the sky, or how your own shadow stretches out long and thin on a sunny afternoon? Step into a magical, wordless journey that captures the amazing illusions created by light and water. Through spectacular color photographs, you will discover the hidden beauty of shadows dancing on walls and reflections shimmering in glass windows. This quiet, visual adventure encourages you to look twice at the world around you. You will spot animals, people, and everyday objects transformed by the light. Take a closer look, use your imagination, and discover how ordinary scenes can become extraordinary works of art when the sun hits them just right!
6-8 Years
44 Pages
Experience the striking power of bold black shapes against a bright white background! This captivating visual journey presents everyday items in a completely new and dramatic way. You will discover the strong silhouette of a massive elephant, the delicate wings of a butterfly, and the jagged edges of a fallen leaf. The crisp, high-contrast images make the outline of each object jump right off the page, allowing you to focus completely on its unique shape. Challenge yourself to identify these familiar animals and items using only their dark, distinct forms. It is a fantastic visual exercise that proves how beautiful and fascinating simple silhouettes can truly be!
6-8 Years
12 Pages
Grab your ticket and get ready for a spectacular trip to the zoo! Come face to face with incredible creatures from all around the world through stunning, close-up photographs. You will marvel at the long, spotted neck of a towering giraffe and admire the sleek feathers of a waddling penguin. Next to each beautiful animal portrait, you will find exciting descriptive words that tell you exactly what makes them so special. Are they tall? Are they fierce? Are they completely silent? Use the helpful glossary in the back to discover exactly where these amazing animals live and what they love to eat. It is the perfect adventure for young wildlife explorers ready to learn more about nature!
6-8 Years
34 Pages
Counting has never been so colorful and exciting! Embark on a vibrant numerical journey that takes you all the way from one to one hundred. Through spectacular full-color photographs, you will discover groups of fascinating everyday objects just waiting to be tallied up. Count the bright dots on the page and then match them to the real-life items in the picture. You will count playful toys, delicious foods, and interesting items found right in your neighborhood. As the numbers get higher, the visual puzzles become even more thrilling. It is a brilliant and engaging way to master your counting skills while noticing the wonderful details hidden in the busy world around you!
6-8 Years
48 Pages
Get ready for a fantastic two-in-one learning adventure! First, journey through the twenty-six letters of the alphabet using bright, crisp photographs of everyday objects. You will spot everything from airplanes to zippers as you master your ABCs. Then, flip the book over and dive into an exciting world of counting and currency! You will learn how to count all the way up to ninety-nine using real pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. The clear pictures make it incredibly easy to see how different coin combinations can add up to the same amount. Whether you are practicing your letters or learning how to handle money, this clever double-sided book brings math and reading to life in a fun, visual way!
6-8 Years
41 Pages
A mother travels to Paris, but the treasures she brings home for her daughter are not souvenirs from a shop. They are memories: fountains, the Seine, parks that look like paintings, paintings that feel like parks, and the special glow of a city seen with love.
This lyrical picture book turns travel into an act of sharing. Through the mother’s remembered moments, young readers can explore Paris as a place of art, water, light, and feeling. The story is quiet and visual, ideal for children who enjoy books about cities, family connections, and faraway places. It is also a lovely choice for readers learning that the best part of a journey can be the way you tell it to someone you love.
6-8 Years
42 Pages
Did you know that you can read without using any words at all? Every day, we see symbols that give us important messages, tell us where to go, and keep us safe. From the squiggly lines on a slippery road sign to the bold cross of a hospital marker, this book introduces the universal language of symbols. Through bright, clear photographs, you will discover the clever signs that guide drivers and pedestrians along busy highways and city streets. Test your knowledge and see how many of these wordless messages you already understand! It is a fun and helpful way to become a sharper observer when you are out exploring your town or taking a long road trip.
6-8 Years
32 Pages
