Circles, Stars, and Squares

January 1, 2013

PreS-Gr 2-Bright and lively spreads introduce children to a variety of shapes: the obvious circles, squares, and rectangles, as well as cylinders, cones, and rings. The typeface is clear, and the photographs are colorful as well as instructive. Three examples are included for most of the shapes; they are totally dissimilar so that readers can get a sense of their many different forms. For example, diamond shapes are shown in a net, a cloth with a diamond-shaped floral pattern, and the glass shapes that make up the Hearst Tower in New York City. A cylinder is matched to building materials, spools of thread, and small pill-size containers holding beads. This simple, straightforward title is perfect for young children who are learning the basics, while the examples could easily lead to discussions about the objects themselves with slightly older readers. A great addition to concept-book collections.-Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2012
The Clever Concepts series gets a new entry that teaches readers about two- and three-dimensional shapes. As with previous titles, brilliant color photographs provide children with examples of the concepts being presented, all of them emphasizing that shapes are all around us, waiting to be discovered. The first of two loose sections looks at "flat" shapes--circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, triangles, diamonds, and a brief mention of pentagons, hexagons and octagons--the second at "solid" shapes--spheres, cylinders, cubes, cones, rings and eggs. But this latest entry has some troubling problems. While the author uses good vocabulary in some areas, in others, she oversimplifies--for example, never using the terms 2-D or 3-D--or provides what could be described as half-definitions: A sphere is a "solid circle," while a cylinder "has circles at each end and straight sides in between." In at least one case, vocabulary is erroneous: A life-saving ring in a picture is called a life jacket within the text. Furthermore, her pictures are not always the best examples. Bricks are great rectangles, but the pattern depicted shows three bricks stuck together, which make a square. She also says that "chocolate candies are all spheres," showing a cake decorated with spherical candies, but also with M&M's and chocolate discs, which are hardly spheres. This just doesn't stand up to geometrical scrutiny. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

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