This is a book of shapes

As the title says, this is a book of shapes--but with a little touch of whimsy. A goofy-looking emu on the cover, with wispy feathers in beautiful shades of purple and turquoise, forewarns readers there is more to the book than simple shapes. And it delivers. The first spread presents a wood-grained green circle against a white background and a simple, straightforward statement: "This is a circle." Next comes a red square and "This is a square." Next, a blue triangle and "This is a triangle." Next comes an emu. An emu? The deadpan narration announces, "This is an emu pushing a pancake wagon down the hill." Readers are now in the know; what other quirky appearances might there be? The book does not disappoint. Interspersed with other basic shapes, a porpoise reading knock-knock jokes and a skateboarding rhinoceros also show up in the same matter-of-fact way. Being in on the joke, children will have no difficulty accepting the juxtaposition of simple shapes and silly animal antics as perfectly sensible. But when a plain pineapple makes an appearance, readers will agree with the author: "What is that doing here?" The final spread shows animals and shapes but no pineapple--after all, it doesn't belong here--having fun at the beach. Bound to put a smile on readers' faces. (Board book. 2-4) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.