Linus

Having bent his elders out of shape--literally, in Hausmann's illustrations, as everyone in straitlaced, straight-lined, orderly Linneopolis is a googly-eyed rectangle--unruly Linus is instructed to lay bricks into a wall until his fondness for unconventional circles and colors is properly suppressed. Instead, he escapes to a protean land where there are no straight lines at all and where, at first, he is regarded as an oddity by its blobby, brightly hued inhabitants. Homesickness eventually leads him to bring some wildly colored and shaped new friends back to his city, though, and he soon convinces both skeptical camps that "differences were truly worth celebrating." Extravagant shapes and saturated colors gradually seep in artful ways into the drab, geometric settings on the way to a final view of loudly patterned hot-air balloons hovering over a bridge that connects the two countries and is built of both curves and straight lines. If the message lies heavily on this picture-book debut, these digitally created pictures more than reward readers their close examination.

A square peg rebels. Linus, a black-toned, big-eyed rectangle in a red bow tie, lives in Linneopolis, a black, gray, and white world full of blocky citizens who are "uptight," "straitlaced," "punctual," and "orderly." Puns about being "out of line" and "bent out of shape" abound, and everyone is urged to conform, "toe the line," and shape up. Linus prefers unruly balloons, riotous colors, wavy shapes, and anything to disrupt the status quo. After failed attempts to get him to conform (including a stint at a cheerfully depicted hard labor camp), Linus goes adventuring into the outside world. In far-off towns and cities, he discovers the excitement and stimulation he desires in the form of rainbows, disco balls, and chaotic architecture. He brings a palatable amount of it back to Linneopolis, and the citizens there learn that "differences [are] truly worth celebrating." The predictable metaphor, structure, and resolution are uninspiring, but the striking art helps to carry the simple story and will encourage young readers to be themselves, accept differences, and see themselves in the shoes (or tiny stick legs) of the rectangular hero. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A standard but enjoyable text about embracing diversity. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.