Whenever you are - inside or outside - there are shapes to discover. And with Tana Hoban's help you will begin to see them. Look around. How many circles, squares, stars, triangles, hearts, and rectangles can you see? They are everywhere.

Search many different city scenes with your little one in Shapes, Shapes, Shapes identifying shapes in the world around us. The first page provides some suggested 'shapes to look for', which includes the expected circles, squares, and triangles, but there are also a few new ones to learn and explore, such as trapezoids, ovals, and arcs. The pictures are photographs of scenes and objects your child will likely recognize, like a toy sailboat, different fruits, houses, a construction site, and even a sidewalk hopscotch game drawn in chalk. The colors range from a simple grey draw bridge or a dolly filled with cardboard boxes, to a bright blue house, or a rainbow of colored beach balls and umbrellas on a sidewalk stand. There are no words to distract or help - it's up to you to find the shapes!

This is a great book to pick up and read any time; it can be read in any order, just a few pages at a time, or from cover-to-cover. Every time your little one scours the pictures, there is a possibility of seeing new shapes. The familiar scenes in some of the pictures may spark personal stories of related experiences, while the unfamiliar scenes may bring up questions. You can make new games while 'reading', such as 'who can find the most triangles on this page' or 'which picture has the most different shapes'. You can even bring out a picture of your own and study it for shapes!

My four-year-old niece, Emily, loves the picture of the little girl with many different colors and shapes of barrettes in her hair. When she first saw it, she yelled, "Dress up!" She also identified the only important item in the photo of a school lunch, "Cookies!" At least we know what her priorities are.

--Audra

Tana Hoban's photographs have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and in galleries around the world. She has won many gold medals and prizes for her work as a photographer and filmmaker. Her books for children are known and loved throughout the world.