Article: Shanti Sparrow – Shapes // Review by Fatherly

A wonderfully written article on Shanti Sparrow – Shapes has been published in Fatherly. Below are a few of my favourite quotes. Original article can be found here.

Most of the shapes that interest your kid take the form of triangular pizza slices or circular cookies, but soon enough they’re going to need to know their ass from an isosceles. The appropriately titled Shapes is the follow up to author and illustrator Shanti Sparrow’s Colours (Australia, you so crazy), and its gorgeous, textured patterns make it more likely to be left out on the coffee table than put in the crib.

You probably already have that book that teaches your kid what a square is by showing them a box, or an octagon by showing them a stop sign. But, that isn’t challenging their perception of how geometry hides in everyday objects. Sparrow will blow your baby’s mind with refined designs that layer parallelograms in a herringbone pattern, turn teardrops into 6-petaled flowers, and creates colorful, pastel drawings that about 2 seconds from being a Tycho album cover.

Your toddler may not appreciate the dizzying amounts of crosshatching, swirls, and patterning — but you will. There are 10 shapes covered, each with their own stripped-down outline and the name of each shape printed on the left-hand page (so everyone knows what the hell they’re looking at). Some of the designs might be a little complex for younger readers, but Tetris world champions don’t just happen overnight.