Get Ready for School: Shapes

Written by · Published Jun 5, 2018

To reserve any of the following books to help children learn shapes before starting school to your local library, click on the links to reserve them from our online catalogue, visit any of our libraries, or contact us on 01473 351249 or help@suffolklibraries.co.uk

You can sign up for a library card online for free. You can sign your child up for a library card at any age.

Shapes with Little Fish, by Lucy Cousins

“Join Little Fish on an underwater journey, and count from 1 to 10 along the way. Little readers will love Lucy Cousin’s bright, bold characters and will delight at the final page, teeming with colourful fish of all shapes and sizes.”

Charlie Chick Shapes, by Nick Denchfield & Ant Parker

“Does Charlie Chick know what each shape is called? Lift the giant flaps on each spread to find out!”

Elmer Shapes, by David McKee

“Learn all your shapes with Elmer! A first concept book ideal for the very youngest Elmer fans. This colourful, interactive board book with indented areas for little fingers to trace will help learn shapes, while developing the fine motor skills required for handwriting.”

Lift-the-flap Shapes, by Margot Channing & Ilana Exelby

“Pre-school learners can practise their reading, numeracy and shape-recognition skills with this enormously entertaining lift-the-flap book. The reader is asked to answer the questions about shapes around the edges of the pages and then lift the flaps to see if they got the answers correct. The book moves from introducing basic shapes to talking about how many sides they have and how different shapes can be used together.”

Shapes, by Courtney Dicmas

“Courtney Dicmas introduces babies to basic concepts with her award-winning charm and humour. Shapes cleverly demonstrates the way that different shapes appear in nature, through the outlines of animals, or through the negative space between them and their family members.”

Bear in a Square: a book of shapes, by Amélie Faliere & Tasha Percy

“Is that a penguin in an oval? What shape is that monkey making with its tail? And is that a bear in a square? Spot the different shapes the animals are making in this vintage art-inspired board book.”

Circle, Triangle, Elephant! A book of shapes & surprises, by Kenji Oikawa & Mayuko Takeuchi

“A clever and refreshing approach to learning about shapes, with a bit of silliness mixed in. The book offers a breath of fresh air within this well-established toddler concept genre.

“With bright block-art visuals and a rhythmic, read-aloud text, it begins by offering familiar shapes - a triangle, a circle, and a square - and then throws an elephant into the equation: triangle, elephant, circle. Surely an elephant doesn’t belong in a book on shapes - or does it?”

My First Mr Men Shapes, by Roger Hargreaves

“Learn about shapes with your favourite Mr Men and Little Miss characters! With simple text and colourful pictures, this fun book is perfect for the youngest Mr Men fan.”

Circle & Square: let’s learn shapes, by Connie Isaacs

“Discover a tactile world of early learning in this first shapes book. Children will love to explore the pictures in this rhyming novelty book.”

Shapes: a trace-the-shape book, by Jane Cabrera

“This is a shapes board book with touch-friendly recessed shapes on each spread. It features all sorts of fun creatures, painted in Jane Cabrera’s stunning trademark style.”

Shapes with Peppa, by Neville Astley & Mark Baker

“Learn all your shapes with Peppa. With simple text and pictures this chunky board book is perfect for little hands.”

Shapes, by Nicola Killen

“It’s Bobo’s birthday! His play tent is a triangle and his presents are all squares! Lift the large flaps to find the triangles, squares, circles and more in this funny and simple story about shapes.”

Little Bear’s Shapes, by Jane Hissey

“Old Bear and his friends are finding shapes all over the place. With circles, squares, spheres and more to discover in Jane Hissey’s classic illustrations, this is the perfect learning companion for children.”

My Big Book of Spot: a first book of numbers, shapes and colours, by Eric Hill

“Spot and his friends have fun with colours, shapes and numbers in a clear, bold way that young children can understand and enjoy.”

Dotty’s First Book: colours, shapes, numbers, by Becky Baur

“Becky Baur - whose charming illustrations are full of warmth and humour - has fun on the page introducing colours, numbers, shapes, opposites and first words. Each spread introduces a key concept either via a single scene or a number of small artworks - all with first word labels. There are all kinds of things to spot and find in the pictures, including animals who play a riotous game of peekaboo throughout the book.”

An Oval Submarine and other shapes, by Bernadette G. Ford & Britta Teckentrup

“This is a young colourful concept book which is presented in Britta Teckentrup’s distinctive style. The book features bright, bold, and distinctive artwork.”

See also:

Sophie Green

Sophie Green

I work for the Suffolk Libraries stock team. I also write children’s fiction, short stories and comedy. Visit my website.