MR. ROUND AND MR. SQUARE

It’s all in how you look at things.

Orange-skinned Mr. Round and beige-skinned Mr. Square live opposite each other. Everything about them suits their respective names: Mr. Round’s face, house, and car are round. Mr. Square’s face, spectacles, hat, house, and car are square, as are his dog and plants. The guys perceive things differently, too. When a bird flutters by Mr. Round’s window, he observes that the animal is close by, but Mr. Square retorts, “NO! The bird is far away.” And as the two neighbors gaze at an array of animals, Mr. Round concludes that the dog is last in line. From Mr. Square’s perspective, however, “The dog is first in line.” Both are perfectly correct in their respective judgments. Young children will have a wonderful time meeting these jovial neighbors and exploring basic math concepts (shapes, quantities, spatial relationships, distances, perception, and relativity) as well as colors. But there’s another message here, and we’re not just talking math. At the end of the day, seeing things differently—and being OK with that—is what life’s all about and what unites neighbors. Witness these fellows’ final convivial picnic. This winning charmer, originally published in Belgium and the Netherlands and translated from Dutch, includes lively, colorful illustrations incorporating fonts that reflect the protagonists’ shapes; the book uses rounded type for Mr. Round’s dialogue and a sharper, squared type for Mr. Square’s.

Don’t be a square: Everyone gather round for this adorable concept book.