We Are Shapes

by Melinda Beck

Overview

As seen in Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal

A playful and clever board book about shapes and teamwork by a two-time Emmy-nominated children's content creator at Nickelodeon

Pitch-perfect for a preschool audience, this board book introduces shapes and explores themes of teamwork and resilience. Square, rectangle, triangle, circle, squiggly and lumpy all work together to build a house. Each shape makes a unique contribution, and collectively they achieve something that they could not do alone. With an emphasis on interpersonal development, and visually inspired by the children's books created by Russian Constructivists, this is an artful, fresh take on the evergreen topic of shapes. This charming book teaches young readers everywhere that we are far stronger together than alone.

Ages 2-4

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781838664749
Publisher:	Phaidon Press
Publication date:	04/20/2022
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 7.65(h) x 0.87(d)
Age Range:	2 - 4 Years

About the Author

Melinda Beck was an animator, illustrator, and designer for 15 years for Nickelodeon, the most popular children’s network in America, where her work was enjoyed daily by millions of viewers. Her work is in the collections of the New York Public Library and the Library of Congress. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, she has taught and lectured at the Parsons School of Design.

Editorial Reviews

'As children are introduced to shapes, they are also taught interpersonal development.' – Publishers Weekly 

'A quite sophisticated look at six shapes and shapes within shapes.' – Youth Services Book Review

'Sleek and glossy to touch, bold and bright to behold. All the shapes look and act in different ways. Sometimes these differences work together, sometimes trouble arises. But in the end, as friends do, they come together to make something sweet.' – Bluestocking Thinking, Nicole Levesque

'Great in a shapes themed story time.' – Jean Little Library

'Perfect for little hands...[with] bright and colorful illustrations, your little one will learn all of the shapes... [as they] come together, to make a home!' – Dream Reader Kids, Hannah Van Winkle

 'A sturdy board book fit for the smallest of readers.' - Kidslitislit, Ashley Bryson

From the Publisher

2022-01-25
Six assorted shapes introduce themselves one by one, then come together in this minimalist concept book.

First up, a white, polka-dot square points out its four sides. Next, a red rectangle does the same, adding that it can be wide or tall. The green triangle describes itself as “pointy,” while the yellow circle admits it has no sides but can roll. Lumpy, a cloudlike shape, and striped, visaged, ropelike Squiggly model their own less-concrete attributes: Lumpy bounces; Squiggly wiggles and giggles. Together, the cast attempt to form a stack, but this proves challenging. Triangle is too pointy to support its fellow shapes, Circle is inclined to roll, and Squiggly is too unstable. However, persistence pays off, and the now-smiley shapes arrange themselves into a house. Beck is a respected, accomplished graphic artist, but here, the choice of using shapes to convey the welcome, if familiar, message of cooperative endeavor feels incongruously dispassionate and abstract. The book is conceptually inconsistent. Squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles are shapes and nouns with simple, universal specifications easily grasped by small children; but, the adjectives lumpy and squiggly are not shapes and lack straightforward definitions, a discrepancy left unresolved. The text is similarly confusing. The shapes’ conclusion that “together we are a home” is contradicted by the illustration: Circle is a sun, Lumpy is a cloud, while Squiggly’s role (surrogate human?) is unclear. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Executed with more flair than substance, this board book is a miss. (Board book. 1-3)

Kirkus Reviews