This well-meaning math concept book sinks under the weight of too much information, unevenly conveyed—a washout.
Pictures of objects on the front and outlines of shapes on the back of sturdy tabs invite precocious toddlers to open the pages.
Within, four-line rhyming verses that incorporate the titular refrain include a question and hint about an object, usually but not always bath-related, with that shape. Four common shapes—circle, square, triangle and rectangle—begin, respectively paired with “mommy’s pretty ring,” a washcloth, the sail on a toy boat, and a bath towel. From this concrete beginning the concepts grow abruptly more abstract. A charming double-page illustration of the toddler protagonist sitting amid shapes floating in the bathtub accompanies the vague text: “What shapes can the water make? / A heart or star? An oval lake? / Water changes shape—it’s flowing. / Bathtime Mathtime, let’s keep going!” Then one spread and 10 lines of text describe 3-D objects: sphere (a ball), cylinder (a shampoo bottle—notably, not depicted as a cylinder), and cube (blocks). The next spread just shows the light-skinned, pigtailed child splashing in the tub. The note to parents at the end claims that the book will show that bathtime “(including hair washing!)” can be fun, but nowhere in the story are the child’s pigtails taken down, much less shampooed. A final rebus provides a review and hurriedly introduces cone and pyramid shapes.
This well-meaning math concept book sinks under the weight of too much information, unevenly conveyed—a washout. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-101-93396-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pure unmitigated sleepy-time pleasure.
Klassen’s inimitable blend of cozy and curious is on flagrant display in this tale of personalized forest management.
“This is your sun. It is coming up for you.” Klassen allows the youngest of readers to put together a beguiling woodland scene. Each object in the forest is bedecked with the deadpan eyes the artist is known for. Like other titles in the series, this one presents typical items (trees, rocks, a stream), but it distinguishes itself by including a solitary forest ghost who “is nice. He only comes out at night.” It’s a tiny yet whimsical detail that imbues the tale with an enchanting sense of unpredictability. When day shifts to night, readers are assured that “this is your forest. Now it is done.” The sun sinks, and they’re treated to a surreal scene as all the items appear to doze off: “Now everyone is closing their eyes.” Happily, the ghost has a brief solo moment on the very edge of the forest on the final page. Readers will experience both the comfort of putting a community of anthropomorphized objects to sleep and the power of creating it in the first place.
Pure unmitigated sleepy-time pleasure. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781536230833
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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