Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. An exercise in both art appreciation and recognizing shapes, this book invites children to find one of 10 geometric forms in tiled details taken from several dozen artworks owned by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The text follows a very basic pattern, asking, What shape is . . . a particular object in a painting, with the answer on the next page, accompanied by several other examples of the shape. The example for Arch, a rock formation in a painting by Monet, may be a bit too impressionistic for the target audience, but, in general, the shapes--square, rectangle, crescent, heart, etc.--are clear and easy to pick out. All the art is fully identified in a visual key at the end. Being smaller and more subdued in color than Lucy Micklethwait's I Spy Shapes in Art (2004), this doesn't have the same visual impact; it does, however, include more works, and makes an equally eye-opening prelude to an art-museum visit. --John Peters Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Another beautiful concept book that highlights works from the museum's collection. With a structure similar to that in Museum 123 (Little, Brown, 2004), a question (e.g., "What shape is the wheel?") faces a full-page art reproduction. On the next spread, details from four more works of art that include the shape face a single example of it on a white background, centered and clearly labeled. The concept is simple; what makes this book so wonderful is the art, which is varied in content, style, medium, culture, and period, and is beautifully reproduced. Young children may be challenged to name the arch or the crescent, for example, and may also have some difficulty finding familiar forms in a few paintings, like the rectangles in Childe Hassam's waving flags in Avenue of the Allies, Great Britain, 1918. Parents will relish the opportunity to look at these wonderful works of art and to discuss not only the shapes, but also the content of the pictures with their children. A title to be shared again and again.-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
What shape decorates the harlequin's costume?"" Questions about shapes are paired with well-reproduced works of art (in this case Picasso's Harlequin); the answer is provided on the following page along with four other examples, from basketry to woodcuts, found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. Simple format, gorgeous illustrations--what more can one ask of a shapes primer? (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Once again, the collections of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art serve up instantly recognizable images of ten forms, each identified by word, shape and images. Square, circle, rectangle, triangle, oval, arch, crescent, diamond, heart and star--proceeding one might say in order of complexity--are introduced first by a question ("What shape is the wheel?") on a page where patterns of the grey outline of the shape float. Opposite, a full-page image of a work of art displays the shape prominently. On the next spread, the shape is named--CIRCLE--opposite four more pieces of artwork highlighting the circle shape. These are always drawn from many cultures and techniques--in the case of the circle, an American lithograph, an Indian mandala, a Japanese woodblock print, an American quilt and a Sienese altarpiece. Full information about each piece of art is at the back. A marvelous gift for parent and child, promising many hours of visual stimulation and enjoyment. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
