This tantalizing amalgam of the philosophical, artistic, and mathematical offers multiple entrees to an irresistible concept.
An Argentine author/illustrator invites readers into his gallery and muses on that which is unlimited, endless, uncountable.
Each double-page spread features a full-color, textured composition on the recto; the verso includes an equation (sometimes just a number), a lyrical statement, and, at the bottom, a whimsical drawing incorporating a lemniscate—the symbol of infinity. The opening quote is a snippet from Hamlet: “I could be bounded / in a nutshell, / and count myself / a King / of infinite space….” Depicted holding a swordlike carrot with the mathematical symbol as crossguard, the figure opposite appears in cameos throughout, providing the narrative thread. Some ideas tend toward the unpleasant. Infinity is imagined as “that nightmare / where I’m inside the snow of a television screen, / and I have to sweep it up / with a toothpick.” Others are full of possibility: “It’s / the eye of an artist / just before / he starts drawing.” This line is accompanied by a black pupil surrounded by rings of colored-pencil points. Those with knowledge of math and science will recognize certain equations while other numbers are personal, according to a note with the copyright information. As in the work of Shaun Tan, these pages provide provocations for readers to contemplate, synthesize, and imagine what they will based on their own interests and backgrounds. There is humor and much to stimulate thinking about what could be.
This tantalizing amalgam of the philosophical, artistic, and mathematical offers multiple entrees to an irresistible concept. (Picture book. 9-adult)Pub Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73422-592-1
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Penny Candy
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A useful, sturdy conversation starter between caregivers and children.
Sweet pastel colors and cheery images across five double-page spreads introduce various animal habitats to young children.
A “sheep and her lamb live on the farm”; a “whale and her calf live in the ocean.” The other animal mother-and-child pairs are a penguin and chick, dog and puppy, and kangaroo and joey. Unfortunately, the Antarctic birds are pictured next to an igloo, but otherwise both the specialized name for animal young and habitat are introduced neatly. Companion title Noisy World introduces noises. Three of the sounds are from animals (lions, a crocodile and birds), while two are from machines (a car and a train). Here, the creators might have been more successful working this concept into two books—one about animal sounds and the other surveying transportation sounds. In either case, flaws will not matter to very young children, who will be attracted to the sunny pictures and jolly characters. There is nothing threatening about the roaring lions or snapping crocodile. Smart adults will use these books to ask questions: What color is the monkey? How many birds are cheeping? As with other titles in the Tiny Touch series, the back blurb touts the “bumpy textured pages that make it a tactile and interactive experience,” but the texture is so subtle, it is almost nonexistent.
A useful, sturdy conversation starter between caregivers and children. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0023-4
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
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