The Shape of Things

by Jennifer Cooper, posted on January 19th, 2016 in Features, Play + Learn, The Reading Nook

The question isn’t when is a circle not a circle? It’s when is a circle more than a circle? The second question goes beyond identification and requires a healthy imagination. And that is the type of question author and illustrator, Joyce Hesselberth, wants to help our kids answer.

Joyce has a brand new book out called Shape Shift. If Joyce’s name sounds familiar it may be from her previous shape study PrestoBingo Shapes, or her work on They Might Be Giants video, or her illustrations for the New York Times. She’s a woman whose work gets around…because it’s awesome!

Her latest book, Shape Shift, helps kids identify circles, squares, crescents, diamonds, triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, and ovals. But where it goes beyond the traditional shape book, is when it encourages readers to play with shapes. What happens when you stack two shapes together? Look, it becomes an angry bull? And what about two other shapes? A fish jumping out of the water.

The illustrations in the book are lovely enough that I’d purchase it even if it were just a book to help my kids learn their shapes. Happily for me, it’s a book about so much more.

Shape Shift
Recommended ages – two to six
Where to buy – Barnes and Noble and Amazon