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SHAPES

Name: SHAPES
Author: Philip Giordano
ISBN: 978-2-7459-8173-8

From the Fold-a-Flap series

by Philip Giordano ; illustrated by Philip Giordano ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2017

A winner.

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Lifting flaps reveal the simple geometry underlying the world around us.

This charming and seemingly indestructible board book introduces a variety of basic shapes and relates them to common objects in our homes, yards, and environs. Inquisitive young readers will love the interactive design of this book. When little hands pull the folded flap, a circle becomes a stylized apple, complete with worm, and a plain square becomes an artist’s colorful canvas, replete with possibility. Think of this book as a pop-up book for toddlers. The shapes and concepts start simply and become increasingly complex, continuing with “rectangle,” “triangle,” “star,” and “spiral,” as well as more specialized shapes such as “heart,” “diamond,” “raindrop,” and “rosette”—this last illustrated with a blooming flower. These are followed by composites (a triangle and a rectangle form a birdhouse; circles and a triangle make up a snowman) and groups (three triangles become a fir tree, for example). The text introduces a vocabulary of basic forms, while the simple, elegant illustrations afford caregivers and children an opportunity to identify sharks, fish, birds, kites, and other objects and creatures sure to interest children. Some of the transformations are, perhaps, far-fetched—not everyone might agree that a cow’s muzzle resembles a heart, for instance—but the bright pastel colors and whimsical execution more than compensate. Companion volume Numbers uses the same design principle, but busy compositions skew it toward a slightly older audience.

A winner. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: April 4, 2017

ISBN: 978-2-7459-8173-8

Page Count: 16

Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SWALLOW WHO STAYED
by Philip Giordano ; illustrated by Philip Giordano ; translated by Arielle Aaronson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PENGUIN WHO WAS COLD
by Philip Giordano ; illustrated by Philip Giordano

- BOOK REVIEW
STAY, LITTLE SEED
by Cristiana Valentini ; illustrated by Philip Giordano

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SMILE, POUT-POUT FISH

by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to.

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This simplified version of Diesen and Hanna’s The Pout-Pout Fish (2008) is appropriate for babies and toddlers.

Brief, rhyming text tells the story of a sullen fish cheered up with a kiss. A little pink sea creature pokes his head out of a hole in the sea bottom to give the gloomy fish some advice: “Smile, Mr. Fish! / You look so down // With your glum-glum face / And your pout-pout frown.” He explains that there’s no reason to be worried, scared, sad or mad and concludes: “How about a smooch? / And a cheer-up wish? // Now you look happy: / What a smile, Mr. Fish!” Simple and sweet, this tale offers the lesson that sometimes, all that’s needed for a turnaround in mood is some cheer and encouragement to change our perspective. The clean, uncluttered illustrations are kept simple, except for the pout-pout fish’s features, which are delightfully expressive. Little ones will easily recognize and likely try to copy the sad, scared and angry looks that cross the fish’s face.

An upbeat early book on feelings with a simple storyline that little ones will respond to. (Board book. 1-3)

Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-374-37084-8

Page Count: 12

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORRY-WORRY WHALE AND THE CLASSROOM JITTERS
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
POUT-POUT FISH
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POUT-POUT FISH AND THE MAD, MAD DAY
by Deborah Diesen ; illustrated by Dan Hanna

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ALL ABOUT ME

From the Look & Learn series

by National Geographic ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 11, 2014

Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on...

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An exploration of the human body through colorful photos.

Every other double-page spread labels the individual parts on one major area: head, torso, back, arm and leg. Ethnically diverse boy-girl pairs serve as models as arrows point to specific features and captions float nearby. While the book usefully mentions rarely depicted body parts, such as eyebrow, armpit and shin, some of the directional arrows are unclear. The arrow pointing at a girl’s shoulder hits her in the upper arm, and the belly button is hard is distinguish from the stomach (both are concealed by shirts). Facts about the human body (“Guess what? You have tiny hairs in your nose that keep out dirt”) appear on alternating spreads along with photos of kids in action. Baby Animals, another title in the Look & Learn series, uses an identical format to introduce readers to seal pups, leopard cubs, elephant calves, ducklings and tadpoles. In both titles, the final spread offers a review of the information and encourages readers to match baby animals to their parents or find body parts on a photo of kids jumping on a trampoline.

Clear nonfiction for the very young is hard to come by, and it appears that the Look & Learn series may finally be on the right track despite earlier titles that were much too conceptual for the audience. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)