Review by Booklist Review
Hesselberth introduces nine classic shapes (triangle, square, rectangle, circle, semicircle, crescent, trapezoid, diamond, and oval) and demonstrates that various combinations of these forms can be used to depict everyday objects. A triangle atop a semicircle can become a ballerina or an elephant strapped to helium balloons; likewise, a crescent on top of a trapezoid can represent a raging bull or a slippery fish. Other items portrayed include a lady with a fancy hat and a super car (rectangles on top of circles) and an upside down clown (oval, diamond, and square). The colorful mixed-media and digital artwork emphasizes the highlighted shapes. Humanoid characters resemble Fisher-Price Little People, while the other creations exhibit a boxy style. Backgrounds are kept to a minimum, and white boxes containing the shapes in use will help audiences identify them in the finished art. Pair with David Pelletier's The Graphic Alphabet (1996) or Ellen Stoll Walsh's Mouse Shapes (2007) for a concept story hour.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In mixed-media collages with mottled, stonelike textures, a boy and girl (her head is circular, his a square) combine and recombine nine shapes with gleefully imaginative results. After placing a yellow crescent atop a red trapezoid, the girl sees "an angry bull, ready to charge," while the boy pictures "a slippery fish, jumping in the waves." Later, the children decide that a stacked oval, diamond, and square is an upside-down clown balancing a watermelon on its toes-watermelon they get to enjoy as the book comes to a close. The final pages offer an array of shape combinations, inviting readers to put their own imaginations to the test. Hesselberth (A Children's Book of Animal Poems and Blessings) encourages children not just to recognize shapes but to see their potential as creative building blocks. Ages 2-6. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-"Look around. What shapes do you see?" This shape-shifting story reinforces the identification of circles, squares, crescents, diamonds, triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, and ovals while encouraging readers to pair shapes together to make new forms. The illustrations, done in mixed media and digital paint, are playful and bright, mixing various textures with lines. The author/illustrator also has two educational apps that further explore shapes and color. VERDICT A fun introduction to shapes for young children, and a solid addition to early learning collections.-Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN © Copyright 2015. 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 Kirkus Book Review
Hesselberth's is an unusual sort of shape concept book, encouraging readers to create pictures from simple shapes. A blonde girl and a redheaded boy (both white and with body parts made from simple shapes) each take a single shape and combine the two, challenging themselves and each other to invent a scene incorporating them. A triangle atop a semicircle becomes a ballerina in a tutu leaping across a stage, her arms outstretched. Or it's an elephant floating through the sky with the help of a bunch of balloons. What do you get when you put a crescent on top of a trapezoid? The head of an angry bull or a fish returning to the water after a jump. Other combinations include a rectangle atop a circle (a lady with a hat, a futuristic car) and the penultimate puzzler: an oval atop a diamond atop a square (an upside-down clown). Readers are given a chance to imagine their own scenes with the final double-page spread, which presents them with 12 two-shape scenarios. Muted colors and bold, graphic designs highlight the shapes in the illustrations, made with mixed media and digital paint, and the shapes are highlighted, making it easy to pick them out within the scenes. Most shape books ask readers to find shapes in the everyday world; Hesselberth does the opposite and sparks children's imaginations. (Concept book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
