Square is back! After a sneaky trick was played on him in Triangle, Square is back at home happily doing his work in a secret cave, retrieving blocks and then pushing them up a hill. In this book we are introduced to Circle, who has grand impressions of Square’s work and his ability as a sculptor. His subsequent personal torment in trying to please Circle and create something that is perfect, just like her, goes long into the night. He wakes up feeling like what he has created is a disaster, but is it?

Jon Klassen’s gorgeous sepia and dark-toned illustrations convey the gentle simplicity of the shape characters and the landscape they inhabit. Mac Barnett writes a lovely lesson that things aren’t always as bad as they seem and our perception of ourselves isn’t always the same as other people’s. Fabulous! Ages 2+.

Morgana works as a bookseller at Readings Hawthorn.