Perfect Square

by Michael Hall, Michael Hall (Illustrator)

Overview

“A book that begs for reams of colored paper, rooms full of imaginative hands, and a whole lot of clapping and giggling.”—Washington Post

Michael Hall, the New York Times bestselling author of My Heart Is Like a Zoo and Red: A Crayon’s Story, inspires creativity and resilience in this strikingly illustrated picture book starring a brightly colored square. Perfect Square is the perfect choice for teaching kids to think outside the box! Young readers will learn days of the week and colors of the rainbow, as well as emotional resilience.

In brilliant, innovative collage artwork, Michael Hall illustrates how a happy square transforms itself after facing one challenge after another. Cut into pieces and poked full of holes? Time to become a burbling fountain! Torn into scraps? Grow into a garden! Day after day, the square reinvents itself, from simple and perfect to complex and perfect . . . and always happy. 

“A near perfect concept book . . . a book to revisit often, and with delight.”—The Horn Book

“Pages are lusciously intense as we watch versatility trump geometry”—The Chicago Tribune

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061915130
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/29/2011
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	76,807
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD470L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Michael Hall grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the creator of numerous acclaimed picture books for children, including Frankencrayon, Red: A Crayon’s Story, My Heart Is Like a Zoo, Perfect Square, and It’s an Orange Aardvark! 

Michael Hall grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and lives with his family in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the creator of numerous acclaimed picture books for children, including Frankencrayon, Red: A Crayon’s Story, My Heart Is Like a Zoo, Perfect Square, and It’s an Orange Aardvark! 

Editorial Reviews

A paper square ("It had four matching corners and four equal sides") embraces new possibilities in this deceptively simple work. In a series of paired spreads, the paper square is cut or torn or otherwise rendered into many pieces, after which it reforms itself into new and delightful things. Design decisions are strong and simple; text appears in white, while the background colors (which progress through the spectrum) echo the compositions on the facing pages. On Monday, "the square was cut into pieces and poked full of holes. It wasn't perfectly square anymore." After a page turn, what looks like an act of destruction is transformed into a fresh image: "So it made itself into a fountain that babbled and giggled and clapped." Strips from the square, cut on the diagonal, become a many-tiered fountain, while punched dots become water bubbles. Hall's (My Heart Is Like a Zoo) compositions never seem arbitrary or labored; each (a park, bridge, mountain, etc.) delivers a smile as readers see how the new collages use the fragments. A smart lesson in thinking outside the box (or the square). Ages 4–8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 2—Contentment is a happy, perfect square with "four matching corners and four equal sides." It literally smiles at readers. Even when punched, torn, shredded, shattered, snipped, crumpled, ripped, and wrinkled, it finds a new shape and purpose. A rainbow of boldly colored pages separates each image (or transformation) of the square as each day of the week presents a new challenge and expands its world. Feeling surrounded again and trapped by four corners, the square quickly finds a solution and looks out on the world through a self-made window. The art is simple; minimal manipulation of the square into six new incarnations of brightly colored acrylic ink prints presents shape, color, and time in the context of a story. The message is also basic—a positive attitude toward change may lead to success (and even joy). Hall has endowed a geometric figure with personality—independent and artistic. As its week progresses, the narrative turn of events in the square's world encourages page-turning to discover the results. What will the square do next? This is a not-to-be-missed adventure for all young readers.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

School Library Journal

The volume, like its subject, is a perfect square, welcoming readers into a colorful, geometric romp. Opposite a shiny red page with white type sits "a perfect [red] square. It had four matching corners and four equal sides." On the next page, the square wears a smile, because it is "perfectly happy." On Monday, though, the square is no longer square; someone has cut it up and had at it with a hole puncher, so those shapes arrange themselves into a fountain (with red dots as water). On Tuesday, the square is torn into orange shapes and becomes a garden with the addition of a few well-placed lines. Wednesday's green shreds become a park, Friday's blue ribbons turn into a river. Each day, the brilliant colors change, and the square is torn, crumpled or cut. The artist adds lines—making fish, clouds, etc.—that enable readers to see the new creation. The simple language is as perfect as the initial square. Hall's acrylic monotypes make each iteration slightly different in texture and color, so the whole is a visual feast. The entire week comes together in a "This is the house that Jack built" way at the end, when on Sunday the square becomes a window onto all that was made. Young readers will absorb the visual lessons effortlessly and with delight. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

…Michael Hall again engineers geometric shapes and bold colors into a simple but expressive story…a book that begs for reams of colored paper, rooms full of imaginative hands, and a whole lot of clapping and giggling.
—The Washington Post

Kristi Jemtegaard