Square

Busy with his daily task of pushing blocks up the nearby mountain, Square is surprised when his friend Circle happens by, and praises his genius. Having mistaken him for a sculptor, Circle assumes that Square has made the blocks in his own image, and asks him to make one in her's. Unfortunately, after a night of chiseling, Square has nothing but a pile of rubble. Or does he...?

In this follow-up to their earlier Triangle, author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen deliver an engaging, though-provoking tale about perception, reality, perfection and doing the best you can. Square thinks Circle is perfect, Circle thinks Square is a genius, and the reality of what Square produces is viewed differently, but with equal validity, by the show more two. I enjoyed the story in Square more than I did in its predecessor, I think. The artwork is, as is usual for Klassen, immensely appealing, making able use of the subtle color range and bold shapes to fill out the story found in Barnett's text. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed Triangle, and to anyone looking for children's stories about differing perspectives. show less

Circle observes Square's work - pushing blocks up from underground and piling them around - and admires it: "This is a wonderful sculpture. It looks just like you! ....Now, you must do one of me." Square is dismayed ("Oh crumbs!"), because Circle is perfect and so his sculpture will have to be perfect. He works all night, but only ends up with a pile of rubble. Fortunately, the rain fills in, making a little pond where Circle can see her "perfect" reflection and praise Square's genius. "But was he really?"

Re-read January 2021

Cuadrado (Square) accidentally gives his friend Círculo (Circle) the wrong idea that Cuadrado is a genius sculptor. Actually, all Cuadrado has done is to move black blocks from his cave home to a hill. Círculo asks Cuadrado to make a sculpture of Círculo, but how is Cuadrado going to manage to make this art?

Mac Barnett’s amusing picture book in Spanish will delight both children and their grownups. And isn’t art — and genius — in the eye of the beholder?

Cuadrado accidentalmente le da a su amigo Círculo la idea incorrecta que Cuadrado es un escultor brillante. Actualmente, lo único que ha hecho Cuadrado es mover bloques de su cueva sobre una colina. Círculo le pide que haga una escultura de Círculo pero ¿cómo va Cuadrado show more crear este arte?

Este libro de cuento ilustrado les encantarán a niños y sus padres. ¿Y no es el arte — y el genio — en los ojos de quien lo mira?

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and NubeOcho in exchange for an honest review. show less

I am still quite enjoying the artwork, but still not understanding why this series is in a board book format. I had hoped I suppose for more interaction between Triangle and Square in this second installment because there was such a great dynamic between the two in the first book, but the new story was an interesting one. I do feel that Circle was a bit demanding and that detracted for me. Also, I am of two minds about Square. One hand one could say Square thought outside the box (no pun intended) and attempted something new, but one could also say that Square lied and let Circle believe he was something he wasn't. This is not a book for young children, however, tweens and up might enjoy it.

Square does his own thing each day by moving blocks out of his secret cave and putting them in a pile at the top of the hill. One day circle came by and saw square, and she asked him to make a sculpture just like her, in a circle. Out of all of Jon Klassen's books that I have read so far, Square is the first book to have dialogue in it and provide more of a storyline. Square is still funny and has that dark humor just through the dark illustrations but it does seem different from the books I have read so far because it is more complex than the others. Still a great book, and would definitely recommend reading to students.

Every day, Square brings a block out of his cave and pushes it up a steep hill. This is his work. When Circle floats by, she declares Square a genius, a sculptor! “This is a wonderful statue,” she says. “It looks just like you!” But now Circle wants a sculpture of her own, a circle! Will the genius manage to create one? Even accidentally?

This book is for primary aged students. This is a story from the shapes trilogy that is an abstract artistic piece of a square that--without a seeming reason--always pushes blocks up a hill every day. It is a short, funny story with abstract, interesting art illustrations. This would be a good at-home read (maybe a discussion of the difference between different types of shapes!)