Perfect Square

Perfect Square. Written and illustrated by Michael Hall. 2011. New York: Green Willow Books. 40 p. (0061915130).

Author/Illustrator Website: http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/36209/Michael_Hall

Media: cut paper collage

Awards and Honors: none

Audience: Preschoolers

Annotation:
Circumstances force change upon a perfect red square and it is transformed into new and wonderful shapes.

Personal Reaction:
Change can be hard. New possibiltities are sometimes tough to imagine. The perfect square is perfectly happy having four straight and equal sides, but when it is cut and torn and punched it soon is forced to explore new possibilities. Instead of fighting change, the square goes with the flow and transforms itself into new and wonderful things: a river, a garden, a fountain, and a mountain- to name a few. After experiencing all that change, the perfect square learns that it is no longer satisfied being perfectly square and it reinvents itself in a way that incorporates all the wonderful things it has been before.

Michael Hall presents a simple, yet profound message in Perfect Square and illustrates it beautifully using boldly colored paper collage reminiscent of Leo Lionni. This a an example of a book for young readers that can be enjoyed by young and old on many levels- it's a strikingly illustrated and engaging little story with a deeper meaning. Concept tie-ins include colors, shapes and days of the week, and the book lends itself perfectly to a paper collage art project.