September 22, 2014
Tiny paper-collage Mouse gives various cut-paper shapes their marching—and rolling, bouncing, and slithering—orders in Fleming’s (Underground) celebration of concepts and perception. With oval wheels that give the impression of a windup mouse, the speedy rodent zooms across Fleming’s bold handmade paper backgrounds, directing the shapes on how to assemble themselves: “Slide, SQUARE, and start the show! Bounce, OVAL, up and down.... Flip, thin RECTANGLES. Don’t break!”). When each shape has played its part to form a new whole, the resulting monkey looks ready to play. However, in his exuberance, Mouse crashes into the monkey, sending the shapes scattering. And when the rallying cry “SHAPES, find your places!” comes, the paper pieces take on a spirit of their own, reassembling into, not a monkey, but another animal that has Mouse on the run. Though the story reads as a bit scattered, readers will enjoy joining in the puzzlelike fun, guessing what the shapes are forming and imagining how they might reconfigure. The shapes themselves, snipped from decorative handmade paper, are labeled, helping to introduce or reinforce readers’ familiarity with them. Ages 4–8.
August 1, 2014
Fleming's signature pulp-painted backgrounds set the stage for a performance featuring an assemblage of shapes; created from patterned handmade papers, the forms are choreographed in their activity by a madcap mouse on wheels. "Slide, SQUARE, and start the show!" he cries, zooming around the double-page spreads. The labeled shapes, from "small ovals" to "thin rectangles," cross each gutter from verso to recto as the pages turn, until the contours of a creature are discernable. Children will enjoy predicting at various points in the narrative; a monkey would be the correct guess for the first animal. Motion lines drawn with pastels combine with expressive verbs, rhyming couplets and playful phrases to animate the narrative: "Bibbity bop!" Although Fleming presents a veritable smorgasbord of early learning (shapes, colors, directions and concepts), there is also a dramatic arc with tension and humor. When the mouse careens into the loosely placed papers, they scatter and re-form-into a cat! The denouement is a bit untidy, leaving readers with inquiring minds questioning what happens to the feline, after a page turn reveals a new monkey made with different paper, but they will feel relief that all's well that ends well. The title will surely inspire children to create and deconstruct their own geometric dramas. (Picture book. 2-6)
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September 1, 2014
PreS-Gr 1-Pulp painting and collage art prevail in this creative game. On the first spread, a motorized mouse figure instructs shapes-a small arc, triangle, oval, large arc, circle, two small ovals, two tiny circles, two big rectangles, two thin rectangles, and a square-to rearrange themselves piece by piece to form a monkey. Mouse and Monkey accidentally collide, and the pieces assemble into a cat, then quickly return to the intended form. Fleming's active verbs (bounce, slide, slither, flip) create verbal energy to reflect the visual fun that keeps fresh with varying colored backgrounds. Readers can seek and find the shapes on each page, and assembling them in different ways creates an engaging interactive experience.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 1, 2014
Preschool-G In this early concept book created by the masterful Fleming, a mouse ringmaster opens the shenanigans: SHAPES are in place and ready to go! An assortment of neatly labeled shapes such as ovals, circles, and rectangles are featured on the next page. Then the fun gets started: Slide, SQUARE, and start the show! Other actions include Bounce, OVAL, up and down and Roll, CIRCLE, round and round. Kids will likely wiggle around, too, as they learn the shapes and act out the motions in the rhyming directives. As the shapes combine, a figure emerges: a monkey! He looks delighted, but the mouse looses control, careening across the page, and crashes into the monkey, sending the individual pieces flying. Tots will collapse in peals of laughter. If the end feels a bit rushedafter a cat is created, the mouse seems to have sudden success rebuilding the monkeythis is still bound to be a repeat favorite.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)