Squarehead - Hardcover

Ziefert, Harriet; McKie, Todd

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618083782 ISBN 13: 9780618083787

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001

Synopsis

George only likes things that are square like himself until a dream in which he floats off into outer space and encounters all sorts of nonsquare objects reminds him of how nice round can be.

About this title

About the Author

Harriet Ziefert is the author of many popular books for children, including ELEMENOPEO, ANIMAL MUSIC, and CLARA ANN COOKIE. She collects and swaps antiques, thereby avoiding the accumulation of unsightly clutter. She divides her time between Lincoln, Massachusetts, and Maplewood, New Jersey.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 2-A simple parable about prejudice and acceptance. George has a squarehead, lives in a square house, has a square cat and dog, and mistrusts anything that is not square. "Snowballs gave him shivers-Wheels were annoying." One night his dreams take him from his square bedroom to space where he sees the beauty of "a curved moon-and the earth big and round." McKie's striking and primitive illustrations nicely highlight Ziefert's minimalist text. From the endpapers of multicolored squares on a green background to the smiling blockheaded George juggling circles, this delightful read-aloud will teach young listeners about the value of appreciating differences.-Kathy M. Newby, Kokomo-Howard County Public Library, Russiaville, IN

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

George has a face like a cardboard box. He prefers rectangular buildings and angular animals. Although his oblong, staring eyes and carrot-stub nose never alter their symmetrical expression, his stern line of a mouth bends downward when a circle comes in sight. "In his square house in his square room, George was stuck in his own square head." This Cartesian attitude changes after George dreams of "a ringed planet... a satellite sphere... and the earth big and round." George hovers in a field of opaque blue, smiling down at an aquamarine curve. In the next spread, he leans out a blocky window toward a row of flowers and an orange sun. " `Round is awesome,' he said." This revelation comes abruptly. George sees value in difference, and that's that. The paintings reflect the hero's obstinacy in their sturdy arrangements of flat shapes and opaque color, and the writing does not examine what happens next or how circles feel. Yet Ziefert and McKie (First He Made the Sun) adequately summarize and satirize prejudice through their geometric example. In showing how George can be both a "squarehead" and a well-rounded fellow, this volume opens the floor to questions about difference. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0618083782
• ISBN 13: 9780618083787
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: McKie Todd
• Number of pages: 32