Ship Shapes

by Stella Blackstone, Siobhan Bell (Illustrator)

Overview

"The ocean is a patchwork quilt in shades and patterns of blues; bright colors abound and youngsters will especially enjoy the variety of sea creatures. An addition to the concepts shelf that stands out for its unique artwork" — Kirkus Review

Spot the shapes on top of rolling waves and on sandy shores. This sea-based early learning selection features rhyme and repetition, as well as a full page summarizing the shapes for reinforced learning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781846861574
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	03/01/2008
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 6.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	1 - 4 Years

About the Author

Award-winning author Stella Blackstone has written many of Barefoot's best-selling titles, including the Bear series and the Cleo the Cat series. She has been writing for children for over twenty years. Stella lives in Somerset, UK.

After leaving school, Siobhan Bell traveled for many years and had a variety of jobs from making clothes and jewelry to fire breathing! She now works as a full-time textile artist, selling her artwork through galleries, exhibitions and private commissions. Siobhan creates her trademark bright colors using scraps of hand-dyed cotton sheets, which she imprints with patterns using a variety of objects such as combs, potatoes and pieces of Lego! Siobhan lives in her native Somerset, England, with her four-year-old son.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-In this simple concept book, two youngsters and a Dalmatian set out on a raft, calling readers: "All aboard! Come along with me!/Let's see what shapes we can find on the sea." They come across many exotic scenes-including a pirate ship, a fantastic sea monster, and a green submarine-and invite children to search for nine basic shapes. The directions are consistently straightforward: "Can you count all of these triangles?" "What are the shapes of these sails?" The minimal text is paired with colorful, eye-catching artwork made from fabric collages that radiate across the spreads. Although the patterned, patchwork ocean is occasionally a bit overwhelming, children will enjoy searching the briny depths for the little fish and sea creatures hidden there.-Piper L. Nyman, formerly at Fairfield Civic Center Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Blackstone takes a welcome departure from rhyming in her latest, a look at shapes. A boy and girl go to sea on a raft to see how many different shapes they can find. The duo encounters sailboats, a pirate ship, a steamboat, a sea monster, a fishing boat, a submarine and an island with buried treasure. Nine basic shapes are pictured and named on the first page and include a star, diamond, crescent and semi-circle. The text asks readers to find, identify or count the shapes of various objects found on the pages. The final page leaves readers with a too-subtle hint that they can search their own world for shapes: "Let's have a look all around us / And count up the shapes we've been shown." Bell's artwork is a phenomenal display of needlework. The ocean is a patchwork quilt in shades and patterns of blues; bright colors abound and youngsters will especially enjoy the variety of sea creatures. An addition to the concepts shelf that stands out for its unique artwork. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews