by Rebecca Kai Dotlich
photographs by Maria Ferrari
HarperCollins, 1999
ISBN 978-0-694-01207-7 (hardcover)

What is square? For children learning their shapes, this jazzy, energetic rhyme, illustrated with vibrant photographs, makes a rhyming game out of what's square in the world.

Dedication
"In memory of Little Grandma, Ruth Kelly Thompson, who was anything but square."

Reviews
This superbly crafted concept book will quickly become a favorite. In lilting rhyme full of alliteration, Dotlich invites toddlers to examine familiar square things such as "a cold cube of ice/caramels and crackers,/a dishcloth, and dice!" The objects are photographed against brightly colored backgrounds. The final double-page spread asks children to interact with the book by identifying square items amid a variety of differently shaped objects. This title meets the developmental and visual literacy needs of this age group.

—Jackie Hechtkopf, School Library Journal