Square

by Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen (Illustrator)

Overview

From the dream team of Jon Klassen and Mac Barnett comes the second instalment in the exciting new shape trilogy.

Every day, Square brings a block out of his cave and pushes it up a steep hill. This is his work. When Circle floats by, she declares Square a genius, a sculptor! “This is a wonderful statue,” she says. “It looks just like you!” But now Circle wants a sculpture of her own, a circle! Will the genius manage to create one? Even accidentally?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536210521
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/05/2019
Series:	The Shapes Trilogy , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	96 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Mac Barnett is the author of numerous books for children, including four illustrated by Jon Klassen: The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse; Triangle; Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, winner of the E. B. White Read Aloud Award; and Extra Yarn, which won a Caldecott Honor and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Mac Barnett lives in California.

Jon Klassen is the author-illustrator of I Want My Hat Back, a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book; This Is Not My Hat, winner of the Caldecott Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal; and We Found a Hat. He is also the illustrator of two Caldecott Honor books, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Extra Yarn, both written by Mac Barnett. Jon Klassen lives in Los Angeles.

Mac Barnett is the author of several picture books, including President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath, Chloe and the Lion, and Guess Again!, which TIME magazine named the number 2 Picture Book of 2010.

Mac Barnett collaborated with Jon Klassen on Extra Yarn, which won the 2012 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in the Picture Book category, and on Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.

Mac Barnett also writes the Brixton Brothers series of mysteries. He is the founder of the Echo Park Time Travel Mart, a convenience store for time travelers, and serves on the board of 826LA, a not-for-profit writing and tutoring center in Los Angeles. He lives in California.

Jon Klassen is the creator of the #1 New York Times bestseller I Want My Hat Back, which was named a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, and a Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year. He returned with another hat and another thief in This Is Not My Hat, which won the Caldecott Medal became a New York Times bestseller.

He is also the illustrator of House Held Up By Trees, a picture book written by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Ted Kooser, as well as Cats’ Night Out by Caroline Stutson, which won the Governor General’s Award; Extra Yarn and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett; and the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Wood.

Jon Klassen has worked as an illustrator for feature animated films, music videos, and editorial pieces. His animation projects include design work for DreamWorks Feature Animation as well as LAIKA Studios on their feature film Coraline. Other work includes designs for a BBC spot used in the coverage of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, which won a 2010 BAFTA award. Originally from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Jon Klassen now lives in Los Angeles.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/05/2018
Square, who squabbled with Triangle in the first volume of Barnett and Klassen’s Shape trilogy, suffers from a case of imposter syndrome in this second picture book offering. Circle sees Square pushing stone blocks one after the other to the top of a hill among huge, ghostly boulders. She mistakes them for self-portraits—“You are a genius! I did not know you were a sculptor!”—and insists that Square must make a sculpture of her. Anxiety overwhelms him. Slashes of rain cut across the spreads as the stone disintegrates under his hammer and chisel, amid his growing despair. In the morning, his circular pile of rubble holds a pool of rainwater, which reflects Circle’s image as she gazes downward. “It is perfect,” Circle gushes. “You are a genius.” Is Circle a good friend who sees the worth in Square’s work that he can’t see himself? Or is she just a flatterer? Poor Square isn’t sure, and readers aren’t, either. Square’s efforts to please are equal parts hilarious and cringeworthy, and the moment he topples over in exhaustion is comic gold. The story’s decidedly ambiguous conclusion leaves the door open for questions about what it means to be an artist—and that’s the whole point. Ages 5–9. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Square’s efforts to please are equal parts hilarious and cringeworthy, and the moment he topples over in exhaustion is comic gold. The story’s decidedly ambiguous conclusion leaves the door open for questions about what it means to be an artist—and that’s the whole point.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This book takes a sweeter turn from its prankish predecessor in that Square works hard to create something for Circle, only to feel like he failed; but when Circle sees what he created, she is “beguiled” once more by his genius. Though this title will stand alone, children familiar with Triangle might recognize the extra layer of humor at the end when an unnamed narrator poses a game-changer of a question. A must purchase that will satisfy old fans and create new ones.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Funny and lightly philosophical, Barnett’s story gets an extra punch of hilarity with Klassen’s minimalist graphite-and-watercolor artwork. A must for Triangle fans that will leave them wondering how this geometric drama will end.
—Booklist

With typically deceptive minimalism Klassen places a few flat, blocky shapes on the white pages to suggest the physical landscape, angling Square's body and glance to convey the emotional one. Humor is in the details: a bit of twig that catches on harried Square's head and stays there; the shadow that appears beneath Circle as she floats along through the air. For all its brevity, chockablock with philosophical topics to ponder and debate.
—Kirkus Reviews

Barnett’s text is funny and profound, raising philosophical questions about intent, genius, and truth. Klassen’s trademark eyes do a lot of emotive work amid the spare, fantastical set- ting. Angled lines (in the rocks, plants, and slanting rain) and white space direct readers’ own eyes across each page or spread, and short sentences, smart dialogue, and word repetition keep the story moving at a steady pace. Readers looking for a compelling read-aloud will not be disappointed.
—The Horn Book

There’s a ’60s flair to this story of friendship and artistry; the text is spare yet robust, with a lot of meaning behind the carefully selected words, and the open-ended conclusion will give kids much to discuss. Klassen’s watercolor, graphite, and digital art is animation ready, with simple textured shapes against white backgrounds...While the story could provoke discussions about expectations and friendships, this title is most at home as an original entry in art curricula.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Square attempts to make a Circle sculpture that will be as perfect as his friend is...Children will no doubt find the results hilarious. The droll illustrations by the Niagara Falls, Ont., native Klassen, in subtle shades of gray, brown and blue, endow these friends with personality and Barnett's simple text is perfect.
—The Buffalo News

Droll, subdued and enigmatic, this second volume of a planned trilogy will delight children ages 5-9.”
—The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—In their sequel to Triangle, the Barnett/Klassen dynamic duo follows the previously introduced character of Square. Every day Square pushes one square block from his cave to the top of a hill, adding to a pile of square rocks. "This is his work." One day, Circle floats by, and to Square's bewilderment, sees these square blocks as amazing sculptures—Square is a genius at self-portraits! She requests that he create a sculpture for her. Klassen's minimalist watercolor and graphite illustrations are effective in creating a space for the character's expressive eyes to stand out which enhances the book's underlying humor and sense of irony. Short sentences, a gripping plot, and great page turns make this both an excellent read-aloud and an approachable title for beginning readers. This book takes a sweeter turn from its prankish predecessor in that Square works hard to create something for Circle, only to feel like he failed; but when Circle sees what he created, she is "beguiled" once more by his genius. Though this title will stand alone, children familiar with Triangle might recognize the extra layer of humor at the end when an unnamed narrator poses a game-changer of a question. VERDICT A must purchase that will satisfy old fans and create new ones.—Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR

School Library Journal

2018-02-19
In the wake of Triangle (2017), a further raft of ontological posers in stripped-down geometric garb.Square, an unreflective sort, regards hauling large cubes of rock from the depths of his secret cave to a hilltop every day as his "work." He is set to a new task, though, after Circle praises him as a "sculptor" and a "genius," then commissions a portrait. Cluelessly setting to with a hammer and chisel to carve a "perfect" representation of Circle from a stone block, Square is left at the end of the day in the middle of a ring of rubble. Despairingly, he falls asleep as rain begins to fall. Next morning the despair is still there—so when Circle floats up and sees her reflection in the puddle that's accumulated overnight her response is unexpected: "It is perfect," she says. "You are a genius." Barnett's closing "But was he really?" leaves readers (those who have the appropriate patience and experience, anyway) to judge for themselves. Square's downcast eyes as he looks at his own reflection in the puddle heighten the ambiguity. With typically deceptive minimalism Klassen places a few flat, blocky shapes on the white pages to suggest the physical landscape, angling Square's body and glance to convey the emotional one. Humor is in the details: a bit of twig that catches on harried Square's head and stays there; the shadow that appears beneath Circle as she floats along through the air.For all its brevity, chockablock with philosophical topics to ponder and debate. (Picture book. 10-adult)

Kirkus Reviews