The Shape of My Heart

PreS-Gr 1—Sperring offers up a slightly nontraditional concept book in this visually absorbing introduction to shapes. Circles, squares, and triangles are not the focus here. Instead, children are presented with a range of more organic shapes that may hit closer to home-a mouth, feet, shoes, animals, cars, and, of course, a heart. Rhyming text addresses listeners as a parent speaking to a child, pointing out the world around them. "This is the shape of my shoes./And this is the shape of your feet./And these are the shapes that pass us by… /on a noisy, busy street." Beneath a large heart filled with the previously mentioned shapes, Sperring closes his poetic ode with these lines: "And this is the shape I love you with./This is the shape of my heart." Paterson's charming, modern designs practically sing. Stylized birds, a polka-dot mouse, an extra-long pink taxi, patchwork patterned grass, rainbow stars, and other quirky details pop out against white backdrops. Satisfying rhymes and large, attractive art combine to make this a storytime or bedtime winner.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, Farmington Hills, MI