A bit of geometry and a bit of physiology add up to monstrous fun.
What do monsters of various shapes eat? Why, food of various shapes, of course!
Quirky red monsters with toothy mouths and made up of different shapes invite readers to figure out what they love to eat. Each left-hand page depicts a plate holding an assortment of food in different shapes set on a cheery checked tablecloth. Each right-hand page depicts a differently shaped monster. Children will soon figure out each monster has a preference for food of a matching shape. They can check their answers by lifting the flap on the monster’s tummy. The correct food items are shown inside the monsters’ stomachs with intestines going off into their nether parts. The usual suspects make an appearance: square, circle, triangle, and rectangle. But there is also a semicircle, a crescent, an oval, and even a heart-shaped monster. What differentiates this book from other shape books comes at the end. If children don’t know it already, they will soon find out that what goes in must also come out. “Yikes! Where is the Sausage Monster running in such a hurry?” As the Sausage Monster sits on the toilet, children can lift the flap on the side of the fixture to reveal—yes! Sausage-shaped poop.
A bit of geometry and a bit of physiology add up to monstrous fun. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-988-8341-40-5
Page Count: 22
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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
A spooky house tour, unafraid to redefine what board books are capable of achieving.
Preschoolers, get ready for your first official ghost story.
“There is nobody in this house. There used to be somebody. But there is nobody now.” But is that true? As readers turn the pages of this board book, they pass through an array of rooms. In one, a ghost stands clearly to one side, the unseen narrator pointedly making no mention of it. As the narrative progressives, the ghost continues to peep from within (revealed through cleverly placed die-cuts), never acknowledged, always watching. The effect is both amusing and unnerving—in other words, classic Klassen. For some youngsters, the narrator’s refusal to mention the ghost will be a source of humor (and a chance to yell at the book). For others, it will be just the right amount of creepy, perhaps causing some to question whether a ghost truly is “nobody” at all. To set the mood, Klassen relies heavily on color; the first few rooms are brightly lit in the sun’s rays, but the home grows dimmer as readers proceed. Treating the book itself as a physical location begging to be explored (it’s even shaped like a house), Klassen extends the format beyond its usual limitations, allowing a short story of surprising depth to emerge.
A spooky house tour, unafraid to redefine what board books are capable of achieving. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781536248289
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
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