Circle Dogs by Kevin Henkes and Dan Yaccarino

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Reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard’s Noisy Book series from the ’30s-’50s, Kevin Henkes has adopted the simple, direct and child-friendly style of writing in the refreshingly quirky Circle Dogs that takes us through a day in the life of a pair of pet dachshunds.

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Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes

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The contents of Swirl by Swirl are pretty self-evident from its full title: basically, it provides a comprehensive summary of where — and sometimes even why — spirals, in all its forms, occur in nature. Instead of simply doing a dry scientific study, however, the authors have created a stunning book that would be more accurately described as poetic and artistic.

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Museum Shapes by the Metropolitan Museum of Art

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There are probably hundreds of children’s books out there on shapes — almost all featuring photographs of simple objects, or straightforward illustrations. While infants and very young toddlers who are just starting to recognise basic geometric shapes will appreciate these books, they will also tire of them very quickly.

Enter, stage left, Museum Shapes by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is the perfect book for toddlers who have already mastered the basic shapes. Like My First ABC, the most unique selling point of Museum Shapes is that every painting that appears in the book is a bona fide piece of art hanging in the museum, including works by renowned names such as Picasso and van Gogh — a great way to subtly introduce children to fine art.
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Curious George: Everyday Shapes

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everyday-shapes

Everyday Shapes is a sturdy board book that uses short rhyming verses and large, removable puzzle pieces that babies can handle, to help them learn and recognise the basic shapes — star, heart, oval, diamond and flower. The removable puzzle pieces are also great for developing the child’s small motor skills as he or she practises removing and replacing the shapes.