A thoughtful and unique meditation on the shapes found in everyday life, sure to expand young children's thinking.

In lyrical language, a mother tells her small daughter about the shapes that make up their lives. At first, the shapes are literal. The shape of their door is a rectangle, their table, a square. Water can be shaped like a cube or a cloud. And then she moves on to the figurative. The shape of learning is a question. The shape of warmth is a space waiting to be filled. Some shapes change, like a child growing up, while some remain the same, like the triangle of the mountain behind their house. The shape of her heart, she concludes, “will always be you.”

Bestselling and award-winning author Mượn Thị Văn has written an innovative, poetic and philosophical exploration of shapes and the many forms they can take, touching on objects, families and love. The meditative and heartwarming text is beautifully complemented by Miki Sato's layered, multitextured and three-dimensional-looking illustrations created from different papers and fabrics. A soothing read-aloud, this picture book has the feel of a classic and promotes observation, curiosity, interpretation and discussion. It's an excellent choice for exploring critical thinking, shapes and measurements with young children.

Mượn Thị Văn loves to read books of all shapes and sizes. She first began reading yellow-spined hardbacks about a certain girl detective before graduating to longer novels and then picture books (it's true, she doesn't remember reading picture books as a young child). So few books reflected her formative experiences, though, that she desired to bring new and different stories into the world. Mýợn has written many picture books for children, including Wishes, If You Were Night and One Is a Lot, and her books have received many distinctions and awards. She lives in Northern California with her family.

Muon Thi Van's profile page

Miki Sato is a Japanese-Canadian illustrator who uses a variety of different textures and materials to create three-dimensional images. Originally from Ottawa, she moved to Toronto to complete her degree in illustration from the Ontario College of Art and Design. Her first picture books are Golden Threads written by Suzanne Del Rizzo and Snow Days written by Deborah Kerbel.

Miki Sato's profile page

A special addition to primary library collections.—CM Magazine

Simple grammar yields philosophical meanings Van's incantatory lines ... Sato's collages layer vibrant colors, textiles, and embroidery, successfully visualizing that which feels elusive.—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Destined to become a classic.—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

... simple and deep ...—ABQLA (Praise for One is a Lot (Except When It's Not))

Librarians, teachers and parents will enjoy using If You Were Night to reinforce the use of colourful vocabulary, to talk about the life of the nighttime world, and just for its reassuring tone as a bedtime lilt.—CM Magazine (Praise for If You Were Night)

One unique picture book with much to say equals quite a lot.—Kirkus Reviews, starred review (Praise for One is a Lot (Except When It's Not))