City Shapes by Diana Murray -- NO

Murray, Diana City Shapes, illustrated by Bryan Collier. PICTURE BOOK. Little, Brown and Company, 2016. $17.99. Content: G.

A little girl travels the city, noticing all the different shapes around her.

I wanted so much to love this book. The premise is great for reading with children -- especially those in preschool or kindergarten -- and the rhyming works well. The artwork is lovely and colorful, and the richness and diversity of the urban scene are portrayed wonderfully.

Unfortunately, many of the pictures are unclear when showing each shape, which defeats the purpose of a book about shapes. For example, the triangle illustration mentions pointy flags, but there are both triangular and rectangular flags on the page. Adults will know, of course, but they are not the intended audience. In addition, the page which talks about squares shows a mail truck and a pretzel cart -- both of which are rectangles, not squares. I wish so much that this book worked, but I simply can't recommend one that is so confusing and inaccurate.

Pre-K, EL (K-3) -- NOT RECOMMENDED. Reviewed by Sydney G., K-6 Library Media Specialist