Review Detail

“Shape Scapes,” written by Magda Gargulakova and Stepanka Sekaninova, illustrated by Lukas Fibrich, is perfect for young children, but can interest even adults. It’s obvious that shapes are everywhere, but taking the time to see them in the everyday, picking the extraordinary out of the ordinary, is something that not everyone tries to do.

Consider the Ferris wheel that spins in a circle and the way the carts that go round and round are shaped. Think about a spiral staircase or a velodrome that you ride your bike around in circles. A maze can be shaped like a rectangle with long, thin alleyways. The side of a house can have rectangular bricks, square windows, circular door handles, and so much more. Pyramids are shaped like triangles while the pyramid itself is built of rectangular pieces. Mountains can range in shape from triangles to many others.

Watching shapes stand out before your very eyes can be intoxicating and especially exciting for young children who are just learning to see everything that lies before them. From the rectangular living room TV to the round knob on a bedroom door, to the circular beads on a bracelet, to the round mirror on a bathroom wall, shapes are anywhere and everywhere. Learning to see them and discover how they provide space and offer boundaries is what this book aims to do.