The Shape of Me and Other Stuff (Bright & Early Books)

Good book for littles. Easy read for early readers.

My toddler is able to "read" the books as the sounds are repetitive so they know which words are coming up and try to say them. I made the book fun by adding noises to the objects and they always bring me this book to read because they enjoy it so much.

This was one of the first books I purchased for my son. As a small infant (1-3 months old) he would get bored with other books, but the shapes and bright colors in this book kept him interested. It was the only book he'd pay attention to until he was 4 or 5 months old. Even now, at the age of 11 months, it's his favorite. It is short and the shapes captivate very young babies and toddlers alike. When he's grumpy, this is my go to book to make him happy. He likes the fact that there are not too many words on the pages, and he'll turn the pages himself. With wordier books, he'll get bored and turn the page long before I'm finished reading. I'm not sure this would be a great book to purchase for an older toddler, but I would make sure to add this to any infant's book collection.

I have loved Dr. Seuss since I was a kid and this book is included. My mistake was showing it to my 17 month old who doesn't really show much interest in it but it's an investment. I know some day it will captivate her as much as it did me.

Although everything is shown in silhouette, there is plenty of color and action and my kids (boy and girl; now 3 and 5) have always like it. There are herds of elephants, steaming machines, flowers, critters and more. As the first spotlight reviewer did a good job of summarizing the assortment of critters and things that one can find I won't say more. But in regards to the use of silhouettes instead of pictures or detailed line drawings at least one reviewer has said that they didn't like them. But I think they miss the point. The book is about *shapes* and how much you *can* identify without the `advantage' of a detailed picture. And looking at the silhouette and identifying the item/creature is part and parcel of the mental exercise, just like the rhythm and rhyme of the story. If you used pictures you'd hardly learn anything about `shapes' would you. No, the use of shadows is just right for exercising young minds. For reaching for that Aristotelian abstract (LOL) of what is `skunk'. And it is amazing how even the littlest of people can tell a skunk from a cat even with Seuss' odd artwork. Five Stars. 19 pages of fun for boys and girls. This sturdy boardbook is a good read-aloud that stretches the imagination.

My daughter got this book for her first birthday, and it quickly became one of her favorites. She loved the rhymes based on familiar objects, and enjoyed pointing out the corresponding pictures. I think she liked the fact that the vocabulary was based on words she actually knew and could even repeat, and objects that were part of her everyday life.

This book has been a favorite of my 22 month old daughter since she was 3 months! It is a lively, fun book that is classic Seuss. I would definetly recommend it as a first book.