School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Square and Triangle are back with a new adventure and their friend, Circle. In this story, Circle invites his pals to play a game of hide-and-seek near her waterfall. Circle's only rule is "no hiding behind the waterfall." It is dark, unknown, and scary behind the waterfall. But Triangle, who isn't scared of the dark, goes there, forcing Circle to follow into the dark unknown. Triangle is soon recovered, but they also meet another shape in the darkness. It might have been a good shape, it might have been a bad shape, but they could not see it. So they each close their eyes and imagine the shape it could be. If you close your eyes, what shape do you picture? The short sentence structure, quick-moving plot, and simple illustrations make this installment in the creators' shape trilogy just as much of a page-turner as the previous two books. VERDICT Sure to please fans of Square and Triangle, this entry is just as likely to draw in plenty of new readers, too. Recommended. -Elizabeth Blake, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Square and Triangle have had their turns. Now, in the final volume of Barnett and Klassen's shapes trilogy, Circle's the hero. She suggests a game of hide-and-seek and warns Square and Triangle not to hide behind her waterfall, a bright new addition to Klassen's landscape of burnished textures. Sneaky Triangle, of course, heads behind the waterfall anyway, and Circle journeys deep into its inky recesses to retrieve the shape. It's so dark that she disappears into the black, her white eyes all that remains on the page. Out of the darkness stares another set of eyes. But they're not Triangle's, and the entity behind them doesn't speak; Circle and Triangle bolt. In the daylight again, Circle reconsiders, wondering if the shape might have been good. "What kind of shape was it?" she reflects. Barnett ends with a question for readers: "If you close your eyes, what shape do you picture?" Something that seems scary at first, Barnett suggests, might turn out to be just another shape to get to know. Circle's story offers a moment of genuine fright; watching Circle consider other possibilities reminds readers that calm analysis can master fear. Ages 5-9. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
