Review by Booklist Review
Sperring eschews the typical strategies of concept books about shapes with an opening spread featuring two people's bodies (blank except for matching hearts) created from the negative space of geometric objects: This is the shape that we are. The shape of you and me. Simple rhyming text proceeds from there: This is the shape of the sun, / coming up to brighten our day. / And these are the shapes that chirp and tweet . . . / and flitter-flutter away. Nope, there's ne'er a rectangle or oval mentioned. Instead, Paterson uses brightly colored cut-paper collage-style illustrations to urge viewers to take a fresh look at everyday objects. To some extent, the book is organized around senses. For example, a spread about the shape of our mouths is followed by objects that are cold or hot, savory or sweet. But mostly the organization is scattered, except in how it returns to the heart shape that began the book. Though this offering's overall purpose is muddy, it remains an intriguing combination of poetic wondering and point-and-name-the-object prompts.--Austin, Patricia Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Part concept book and part poem, this eye-catching picture book is a reassuring valentine for any day of the year. Despite the emphasis on shapes, Sperring (The Sunflower Sword) isn't offering an introduction to circles, squares, and triangles: "This is the shape that we are./ The shape of you and me," he writes, as the opening spread shows two smiling figures-one large, one small-in white silhouette, defined by a sea of colorful shapes that surround them. A focus on bodily shapes continues ("This is the shape of my hand,/ the hand you hold on to"), serving as an entry into related objects and settings (a spread about food follows one about mouths; a look at feet and shoes paves the way for a scene featuring vehicles). Debut illustrator Paterson fills the pages with crisp and colorful objects, often accented with sound effects (a friendly dinosaur offers a gentle "raaaa," birds chirp and tweet). It's a lovingly designed and visually appealing portrait of the places, animals, and objects common to a child's world, with the invisible but perceptible adult presence hovering in the background. Ages 2-5. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Sperring offers up a slightly nontraditional concept book in this visually absorbing introduction to shapes. Circles, squares, and triangles are not the focus here. Instead, children are presented with a range of more organic shapes that may hit closer to home-a mouth, feet, shoes, animals, cars, and, of course, a heart. Rhyming text addresses listeners as a parent speaking to a child, pointing out the world around them. "This is the shape of my shoes./And this is the shape of your feet./And these are the shapes that pass us by. /on a noisy, busy street." Beneath a large heart filled with the previously mentioned shapes, Sperring closes his poetic ode with these lines: "And this is the shape I love you with./This is the shape of my heart." Paterson's charming, modern designs practically sing. Stylized birds, a polka-dot mouse, an extra-long pink taxi, patchwork patterned grass, rainbow stars, and other quirky details pop out against white backdrops. Satisfying rhymes and large, attractive art combine to make this a storytime or bedtime winner.-Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, Farmington Hills, MI (c) Copyright 2013. 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 Horn Book Review
Featuring everything from zoo animals to cars and trucks, this exploration of familiar shapes is well suited to very young children learning to recognize everyday objects. Sperring's simple rhyming text will appeal to parents as a quick read-aloud, though the words are almost incidental to the world created by Paterson's intensely colored mixed-media graphics, where kids will want to spend more time. (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Singsong rhyming text introduces the myriad shapes encountered during the course of a child's day. But one shape--any guesses?--holds special significance. Sperring begins, "This is the shape that we are. The shape of you and me. / This is the shape of our eyes. And these are the shapes we might see." The shapes presented in this title are really just everyday objects rather than geometrical figures, so those expecting a traditional concept book may be surprised. Eschewing concepts, debut illustrator Paterson does her best to extend the spare text with mixed-media pictures full of eye-poppingly bright images against predominantly stark white backgrounds. Her palette reflects the cheery colors most preschoolers use in their own artwork. The overall visual appeal will satisfy a wide range of little ones. The youngest readers will have fun pointing out favorite vehicles on the spread dedicated to "the shapes that pass us by" and giggle at the inventive colors chosen to illustrate "the shapes at the zoo!" On the final page is a large heart made up of a collection of mini "shapes" introduced previously and the declaration: "And this is the shape I love you with. / This is the shape of my heart." While this may inspire children to create their own heart full of shapes they love, the title fails to deliver anything that has not been done before. (Picture book. 2-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
