We are shapes
WE ARE SHAPES | Kirkus Reviews
by Melinda Beck ; illustrated by Melinda Beck ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2022
Six assorted shapes introduce themselves one by one, then come together in this minimalist concept book.
First up, a white, polka-dot square points out its four sides. Next, a red rectangle does the same, adding that it can be wide or tall. The green triangle describes itself as “pointy,” while the yellow circle admits it has no sides but can roll. Lumpy, a cloudlike shape, and striped, visaged, ropelike Squiggly model their own less-concrete attributes: Lumpy bounces; Squiggly wiggles and giggles. Together, the cast attempt to form a stack, but this proves challenging. Triangle is too pointy to support its fellow shapes, Circle is inclined to roll, and Squiggly is too unstable. However, persistence pays off, and the now-smiley shapes arrange themselves into a house. Beck is a respected, accomplished graphic artist, but here, the choice of using shapes to convey the welcome, if familiar, message of cooperative endeavor feels incongruously dispassionate and abstract. The book is conceptually inconsistent. Squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles are shapes and nouns with simple, universal specifications easily grasped by small children; but, the adjectives lumpy and squiggly are not shapes and lack straightforward definitions, a discrepancy left unresolved. The text is similarly confusing. The shapes’ conclusion that “together we are a home” is contradicted by the illustration: Circle is a sun, Lumpy is a cloud, while Squiggly’s role (surrogate human?) is unclear.
(This book was reviewed digitally.)
Executed with more flair than substance, this board book is a miss. (Board book. 1-3)
- 1
Pub Date: April 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-83866-474-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Phaidon
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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for permission to display these lyric excerpts.WHO ARE THE MYSTERIOUS WE IN THE RUSSIAN AND ESTONIAN LANGUAGES? (ON THE PORTABLE USE OF THE 1ST PERSON PLURAL)
Key words: pronouns, figurative usage, Russian, Estonian
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