{"id":42822,"date":"2023-11-17T23:25:10","date_gmt":"2023-11-18T04:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=42822"},"modified":"2023-11-17T23:25:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-18T04:25:10","slug":"review-of-the-shape-of-you-by-muon-thi-van-illustrated-by-miki-sato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=42822","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Shape of You, by Muon Thi Van, illustrated by Miki Sato"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Shape of You<\/em><\/p>\n

by Muon Thi Van
\nillustrated by Miki Sato<\/p>\n

Kids Can Press, 2023. 32 pages.
\nReview written August 23, 2023, from a library book.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Here’s a picture book that gently leads children into abstract thinking and ends up with love.<\/p>\n

I’m not a huge fan of picture books about how much a child is loved — Although every family should have some books like that, they have to be something special to stand out. This book is something special.<\/p>\n

First, the art is cut paper skillfully rendered with depth and shadows. Objects at a distance are gently blurred. The images are beautiful and sweet — especially of the mother, child, and dog.<\/p>\n

The book starts looking at the shapes of things you can see, including a rectangle door and a square table. Then it gently gets more abstract, first with things you can see:<\/p>\n

The shape of this water
\nis a cup,
\nbut sometimes it’s a cube<\/p>\n

or a cloud.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This beautiful spread is still something you can see, but now they’re talking about the concept of “shape” more abstractly:<\/p>\n

The shape of light
\nis all the colors of the sunset —<\/p>\n

red, yellow, blue,
\ntangerine, chartreuse, mulberry, tan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It progresses to completely abstract, such as, “The shape of thinking is quiet,” and “The shape of learning is a question.”<\/p>\n

One of my favorite spreads has a knitted scarf on the cut-paper child, with the wind blurred in the distance:<\/p>\n

The shape of the wind
\nis a scarf flapping.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And the book finishes up with shapes that change, but the wonderful reminders:<\/p>\n

The shape of my fingers
\nwill always fit yours.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And the shape of my love
\nwill always be you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A sweet story about love, edging into abstract thinking, that could be a wonderful conversation starter. What shapes do you see and feel around you?<\/p>\n

kidscanpress.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/shape_of_you.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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