ROALD DAHL SHAPES

Learn about shapes—with a little help from Dahl and Blake.

Each spread features iconic characters from a different story by Dahl—among them The Enormous Crocodile (1978), Danny, the Champion of the World (1975), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964), and The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (1985)—and a large, labeled image of the shape in question. The shapes are also incorporated into the accompanying illustration. For example, for triangle, we see a crocodile with triangle-shaped teeth as a group of diverse children look on in awe. A bolded word in the text points out the relevant object (“Watch out, chiddlers / Run away from those / sharp, pointy teeth!”), though pre-readers will need caregiver assistance to make that connection. The choice to incorporate the shapes into the illustrations makes this title more appealing and meaningful than board books that simply show and name the objects without context. Adult readers who grew up on Dahl’s books and Blake’s famous illustrations will enjoy the references to those classics and will welcome the chance to share them with a new generation. The book is really all about the images, the text merely inviting readers to take a closer look. But really, that’s what they’ll want to do anyway. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A revisit of iconic illustrations for the toddler audience.