In this clever picture book, six different shapes attend Shapeston
Elementary School along with the children: Triangle, Square, Circle,
Rectangle, Rhombus (or "Diamond" to her friends) and Oval. As the story
begins, the big news at school is the upcoming play. Everyone is looking
forward to auditioning, especially the shapes. One by one they are
introduced, with descriptions of their unique personalities and
interests, along with the roles they've played before (Triangle as a
tortilla chip, Oval as a skating rink, Diamond as a kite and the like).
Happily, after all the wonderful auditions, the drama teacher decides
everyone gets to be in the play! This fresh and playful idea for a
concept book, written and illustrated by Tania Howells, makes shapes and
early geometry fun. Each shape gets its own two-page spread. On the left
is a large picture of the shape, with a simple and expressive face and
limbs set in a jaunty pose, along with the explanatory text. On the
right are boxes containing smaller illustrations of objects made out of
the shape. The art, simply drawn in bright, bold colors, is charming and
engaging. These spreads could easily work on their own for a lesson on
shapes, and the book could be used to spark a variety of "I spy"
activities with young children, in the classroom, in the playground or
anywhere out in the world. Also, the ending spread showing the play's
performance offers a terrific opportunity to search for the different
shapes on the stage.
