Shape Shift

by Joyce Hesselberth, Joyce Hesselberth (Illustrator)

Overview

Round, curvy, pointy, or straight-shapes are all around us.

With vibrant illustrations that highlight shapes in all their forms, this informative book reinforces the identification of circles, squares, crescents, diamonds, triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, and ovals while encouraging kids to pair shapes together to make new forms.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250110916
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	01/12/2016
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	56 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	2 - 6 Years

About the Author

Joyce Hesselberth is an illustrator, designer, and instructor. Along with her husband, she is the co-founder of Spur Design, and her work has been recognized by American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, and the Art Directors' Club of New York, among others. Her educational apps, PrestoBingo Shapes and PrestoBingo Colors, are available in the iTunes store.

Editorial Reviews

10/26/2015
In mixed-media collages with mottled, stonelike textures, a boy and girl (her head is circular, his a square) combine and recombine nine shapes with gleefully imaginative results. After placing a yellow crescent atop a red trapezoid, the girl sees “an angry bull, ready to charge,” while the boy pictures “a slippery fish, jumping in the waves.” Later, the children decide that a stacked oval, diamond, and square is an upside-down clown balancing a watermelon on its toes—watermelon they get to enjoy as the book comes to a close. The final pages offer an array of shape combinations, inviting readers to put their own imaginations to the test. Hesselberth (A Children’s Book of Animal Poems and Blessings) encourages children not just to recognize shapes but to see their potential as creative building blocks. Ages 2–6. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

A Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year

"Muted colors and bold, graphic designs highlight the shapes in the illustrations. . . making it easy to pick them out within the scenes. Most shape books ask readers to find shapes in the everyday world; Hesselberth does the opposite and sparks children's imaginations."-Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Get your sketchbooks ready: “Shape Shift” is the kind of book you’ll want to read with a pen and paper nearby, since it works as a storybook and a creative tool, too. . . Sure to inspire nascent builders and budding artists, too."-The Boston Globe

"Hesselberth encourages children not just to recognize shapes but to see their potential as creative building blocks. "-Publishers Weekly

"A fun introduction to shapes for young children, and a solid addition to early learning collections."-School Library Journal

"The colorful mixed-media and digital artwork emphasizes the highlighted shapes. . . a concept story hour."-Booklist

“The challenge of finding ALL of the shapes in these gorgeous pictures will keep children interested. . . A superb way for children to learn more about shapes and practice their numeracy skills!” —Curious Little Apps on PrestoBingo Shapes

“The graphic details in this app are so beautifully done that it looks like you were reading a children's book or a nursery rhyme. ” —Bloesem Kids on PrestoBingo Shapes

“This colourfully inventive and interactive, shape-finding and counting app for kids is a real treat and more challenging than you might expect.” —LMNOP on PrestoBingo Shapes

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
PreS-K—"Look around. What shapes do you see?" This shape-shifting story reinforces the identification of circles, squares, crescents, diamonds, triangles, rectangles, trapezoids, and ovals while encouraging readers to pair shapes together to make new forms. The illustrations, done in mixed media and digital paint, are playful and bright, mixing various textures with lines. The author/illustrator also has two educational apps that further explore shapes and color. VERDICT A fun introduction to shapes for young children, and a solid addition to early learning collections.—Paula Huddy, The Blake School-Highcroft Campus, Wayzata, MN

School Library Journal

★ 2015-10-14
Hesselberth's is an unusual sort of shape concept book, encouraging readers to create pictures from simple shapes. A blonde girl and a redheaded boy (both white and with body parts made from simple shapes) each take a single shape and combine the two, challenging themselves and each other to invent a scene incorporating them. A triangle atop a semicircle becomes a ballerina in a tutu leaping across a stage, her arms outstretched. Or it's an elephant floating through the sky with the help of a bunch of balloons. What do you get when you put a crescent on top of a trapezoid? The head of an angry bull or a fish returning to the water after a jump. Other combinations include a rectangle atop a circle (a lady with a hat, a futuristic car) and the penultimate puzzler: an oval atop a diamond atop a square (an upside-down clown). Readers are given a chance to imagine their own scenes with the final double-page spread, which presents them with 12 two-shape scenarios. Muted colors and bold, graphic designs highlight the shapes in the illustrations, made with mixed media and digital paint, and the shapes are highlighted, making it easy to pick them out within the scenes. Most shape books ask readers to find shapes in the everyday world; Hesselberth does the opposite and sparks children's imaginations. (Concept book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews