Circle

Circle is one book in a trilogy about shapes; the other two being TriangleSquare. In this book, Circle, Triangle and Square are all friends. One day they play hide-and-seek near Circle’s waterfall. Circle warns Triangle and Square not to hide behind the waterfall, but Triangle hides there anyway. Circle must venture into the dark to find her friend. Circle thinks she finds Triangle on the other side of the waterfall, but she encounters a stranger in the darkness instead. Because it is pitch black, Circle talks to this shape thinking it is Triangle. Only after Triangle shows up later does Circle realize that they are in the darkness with a strange shape. They both run screaming back through the waterfall and into the light. But maybe the shape in the dark wasn’t such a bad shape after all, and they had no reason to be afraid.

Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen have created six witty books together, and Klassen’s muted colors are always distinct and recognizable. In Circle, they deliver a subtle message about the differences we encounter, told through the entertaining antics of Circle and her friends Triangle and Square.