 A self-drawing of Martin Handford with (left to right) Wizard Whitebeard, Woof, Odlaw, Wenda, and Wally. | |
List of titles | |
| Author | Martin Handford |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature, puzzle |
| Publisher | UK: Walker Books US: Little Brown & Co then Candlewick Press |
| Published | 1987–present |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
Where's Wally? (called Where's Waldo? in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depicting dozens or more people doing a variety of amusing things at a given location. Readers are challenged to find a character named Wally (or Waldo) and his friends hidden throughout the pages.
Wally is identified by his red-and-white-striped shirt, bobble hat, and glasses, but many illustrations contain red herrings involving deceptive use of red-and-white striped objects. Later entries in the long-running book series added other targets for readers to find in each illustration.[1] The books have also inspired two television programmes (Where's Wally? the 1991 animated series and Where's Wally? the 2019 animated series), a comic strip and a series of video games.
As of 2007, more than 73 million books of Where's Wally? (and his regional names) had been sold around the world since his original publication in 1987.[2] The series of pictorial puzzle books has been translated into 26 languages, and is published in over 50 countries.[2]
- ^ Duckett, Jodi (26 November 1997). "Wally's World". LA Times. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
- ^ a b "Where's Wally founder tracks down a fortune". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2021.