SHAPES

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.