Perfect Square by Michael Hall (Greenwillow, 2011) is a book my son (currently 4) and I discovered a few months ago before the Cybils even began. Whenever he sees it on a shelf in the library he calls out in excitement, “Look, Mommy! The Perfect Square book!” (And somehow, we keep seeing it everywhere!)
In Perfect Square, a square is perfectly happy being a square, only to find that on Monday he is cut into pieces and has holes poked in him. Using his imagination, however, Square makes the best of his situation, creating a fountain out of his pieces. Each day for the coming week, the square (which somehow changes color and becomes a perfect square anew each morning) is changed into something else, including a river, a mountain, and a bridge. By the end of the week, he can’t wait to see what the next day will bring.
I love the idea of making images out of various shapes (and my son and I enjoyed creating heart animals when we read Michael Hall’s My Heart is Like a Zoo a few months ago) and my son loves cutting things. This is perfect for beginning a “creativity with shapes” craft project with your youngster. If he or she is anything like my child, it may quickly become a favorite picture book.
