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The Museum of Shapes
Welcome to the Museum of Shapes. Alma is the curator of the museum. She decides which shapes should go where.
Triangles have three sides and three angles. Can you help Alma find all the triangles on the shelves? Almas favorite shape is a circle. All the points on the edge of a circle are the same distance from its center. Not all shapes are geometric. Some lines are wiggly and messy. Can you make a wiggly line with your body?
This is an engaging and informative book about the shapes that make up our world. The narrative framework is complemented by interactive texts and gorgeous, minimalist illustration, shedding new light on the beauty of geometry.
Triangles have three sides and three angles. Can you help Alma find all the triangles on the shelves? Almas favorite shape is a circle. All the points on the edge of a circle are the same distance from its center. Not all shapes are geometric. Some lines are wiggly and messy. Can you make a wiggly line with your body?
This is an engaging and informative book about the shapes that make up our world. The narrative framework is complemented by interactive texts and gorgeous, minimalist illustration, shedding new light on the beauty of geometry.
36 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
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December 11, 2025Interesting concept. I was very distracted by the use of the word "then" in place of "than" on one page, and I'm still iffy on what an angle is (adult me knows, but child me would have seen them as corners), but I liked it well enough.
April 6, 2026
Shapes | Bold illustrations | Interactive (appeal terms from NoveList) - Emma
October 15, 2025
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Alma is the curator for the Museum of Shapes. Along with her dog, Max, she decides which shapes go into the museum, as well as how different collections of shapes will be displayed. We are introduced to many shapes, starting with the simple point. There are shapes with different numbers of sides, some with curved lines, and some that are three dimensional. There are even shapes that are blobby and silly, like oak leaves and a splat of ink. Alma arranges all of the shapes and has a grand opening for the museum that is echoed in all of the shapes in the night sky. I loved the author's note at the end telling us that Alma's museum is based on the real Museum of Concrete Art and Design in Ingolstadt, Germany!
This has a little more math involved than many basic books about shapes. There is good information about lines joining points and creating angles, which is a good introduction to geometry. The inclusion of the base of a pyramid and a cube being the same was interesting, as was the concept that three dimensional shapes cast shadows! Any introduction to numbers, geometrical concepts, or math is great for young learners. I only wish that there had been a little more about fractions, since I know how much some students struggle with these concepts even in middle school!
The illustrations are bright and simple, but Max is patterned the same as the brick building. There are plenty of opportunities for young readers to identify and point out different shapes; I particularly like the page that states that most objects are made up of a variety of shapes! Breaking a toy truck into a square, a rectangle, and circles is really good practice.
This felt a bit like Walsh's Mouse Shapes, and also goes well with Cornille's Big, Little: A Book of Opposites, Boldt's Colors vs. Shapes, Oikawa and Takeuchi's Circle, Triangle, Elephant and Miranda and Comstock's Tangled. Of course, now I'm wondering what happened to the cardboard cylinder of wooden blocks I had as a child; I know that my grandson will need blocks like that when reading The Museum of Shapes!
Alma is the curator for the Museum of Shapes. Along with her dog, Max, she decides which shapes go into the museum, as well as how different collections of shapes will be displayed. We are introduced to many shapes, starting with the simple point. There are shapes with different numbers of sides, some with curved lines, and some that are three dimensional. There are even shapes that are blobby and silly, like oak leaves and a splat of ink. Alma arranges all of the shapes and has a grand opening for the museum that is echoed in all of the shapes in the night sky. I loved the author's note at the end telling us that Alma's museum is based on the real Museum of Concrete Art and Design in Ingolstadt, Germany!
This has a little more math involved than many basic books about shapes. There is good information about lines joining points and creating angles, which is a good introduction to geometry. The inclusion of the base of a pyramid and a cube being the same was interesting, as was the concept that three dimensional shapes cast shadows! Any introduction to numbers, geometrical concepts, or math is great for young learners. I only wish that there had been a little more about fractions, since I know how much some students struggle with these concepts even in middle school!
The illustrations are bright and simple, but Max is patterned the same as the brick building. There are plenty of opportunities for young readers to identify and point out different shapes; I particularly like the page that states that most objects are made up of a variety of shapes! Breaking a toy truck into a square, a rectangle, and circles is really good practice.
This felt a bit like Walsh's Mouse Shapes, and also goes well with Cornille's Big, Little: A Book of Opposites, Boldt's Colors vs. Shapes, Oikawa and Takeuchi's Circle, Triangle, Elephant and Miranda and Comstock's Tangled. Of course, now I'm wondering what happened to the cardboard cylinder of wooden blocks I had as a child; I know that my grandson will need blocks like that when reading The Museum of Shapes!
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March 5, 2026See my full review here: https://yabookscentral.com/the-museum...
THE MUSEUM OF SHAPES is an educational and interactive picture book that discusses shapes. The book begins with the curator, Alma, and her dog arriving to the museum. They have a lot of shapes to consider and classify. Readers will learn about basic shapes, beginning with a point and lines, before learning about angles and types of 2D and 3D shapes.
What I loved: This is a very interactive read with lots of questions and educational points made for young readers. The simplicity of images and directness of text work very well for toddlers and preschoolers who will love exploring the magic of shapes. Questions posed to the readers are age appropriate and encourage further thought on each page, adding to the educational aspects of the read.
The book covers a lot of different shapes, including those with different numbers of sides and angles, as well as three-dimensional shapes. The text explains everything very well and in simple terms that will really appeal to little ones.
The museum setting is quite clever with a character categorizing and curating the shapes alongside the reader. Children will enjoy the character and small story that come along with all the math and learning about shapes.
Final verdict: THE MUSEUM OF SHAPES is a fantastic picture book that teaches about shapes to young readers. Simple illustrations and straight-forward text are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers who will also enjoy the interactive questions sprinkled throughout.
Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
THE MUSEUM OF SHAPES is an educational and interactive picture book that discusses shapes. The book begins with the curator, Alma, and her dog arriving to the museum. They have a lot of shapes to consider and classify. Readers will learn about basic shapes, beginning with a point and lines, before learning about angles and types of 2D and 3D shapes.
What I loved: This is a very interactive read with lots of questions and educational points made for young readers. The simplicity of images and directness of text work very well for toddlers and preschoolers who will love exploring the magic of shapes. Questions posed to the readers are age appropriate and encourage further thought on each page, adding to the educational aspects of the read.
The book covers a lot of different shapes, including those with different numbers of sides and angles, as well as three-dimensional shapes. The text explains everything very well and in simple terms that will really appeal to little ones.
The museum setting is quite clever with a character categorizing and curating the shapes alongside the reader. Children will enjoy the character and small story that come along with all the math and learning about shapes.
Final verdict: THE MUSEUM OF SHAPES is a fantastic picture book that teaches about shapes to young readers. Simple illustrations and straight-forward text are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers who will also enjoy the interactive questions sprinkled throughout.
Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
September 21, 2025
The Museum of Concrete Art and Design in Ingolstadt, Germany, is Völker’s inspiration for the story of Alma, the curator for a fictional Museum of Shapes. This book is divided between Alma’s world of her village, her job, and her dog, Max; and a clean, textbookish geometry lesson. Readers are invited to identify, locate, and act out shapes, but the book also teaches us about the ways shapes can help us see our world in new ways. Museums do this for us. Alma’s job is to give visitors a renewed sense of vision by prompting us to locate and arrange shapes within everyday objects. Alma curates.
Arrangement and curation give us new tools for thinking about memory, too. We see Alma receiving shipments of shapes in anticipation of the museum’s opening night. Völker’s graphic designs are crisp and organized, calming even. There is a huge range of objects: strands of hair and spaghetti, clocks, letters, toy cars, chevrons and swatches, moons, octopus tentacles, oak leafs, and bricks– yet they’re unbusy and deceptively deep. His minimalist style also displays a remarkable range of color-moods, such as deep dark cozy villages, with triangle roofed houses smiling out through lighted windows, or lazy afternoons bathed in pale light. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
Arrangement and curation give us new tools for thinking about memory, too. We see Alma receiving shipments of shapes in anticipation of the museum’s opening night. Völker’s graphic designs are crisp and organized, calming even. There is a huge range of objects: strands of hair and spaghetti, clocks, letters, toy cars, chevrons and swatches, moons, octopus tentacles, oak leafs, and bricks– yet they’re unbusy and deceptively deep. His minimalist style also displays a remarkable range of color-moods, such as deep dark cozy villages, with triangle roofed houses smiling out through lighted windows, or lazy afternoons bathed in pale light. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
May 11, 2026
Alma is the curator of the Museum of Shapes. She decides where each shape belongs. Triangles go on one shelf, circles on another. The book asks young readers to help Alma find all the triangles, spot the circles, and even make wiggly lines with their own bodies.
What I loved is how the book goes beyond basic shapes. It explains that not all lines are straight. Some are wiggly and messy. That is a great lesson for kids who think art and math are separate. The illustrations are simple and clean. The minimalist style keeps the focus on the shapes themselves.
My only small complaint is that the book is very short. I wanted a few more examples, maybe some 3D shapes like cubes or spheres. But for ages 3 to 6, this is a solid pick for teaching geometry in a fun way.
Sven, if you are reading this, you have created a unique and interactive book. For your next picture book, before you publish, I would love to help. I can beta read. I can proofread. I can give feedback on concept and interactivity. And when the book is ready, I can help you get it in front of more families, teachers, and libraries.
Email me anytime: contact@hayleyhipps.com
What I loved is how the book goes beyond basic shapes. It explains that not all lines are straight. Some are wiggly and messy. That is a great lesson for kids who think art and math are separate. The illustrations are simple and clean. The minimalist style keeps the focus on the shapes themselves.
My only small complaint is that the book is very short. I wanted a few more examples, maybe some 3D shapes like cubes or spheres. But for ages 3 to 6, this is a solid pick for teaching geometry in a fun way.
Sven, if you are reading this, you have created a unique and interactive book. For your next picture book, before you publish, I would love to help. I can beta read. I can proofread. I can give feedback on concept and interactivity. And when the book is ready, I can help you get it in front of more families, teachers, and libraries.
Email me anytime: contact@hayleyhipps.com
September 1, 2025
The Museum of Shapes is a delightful and engaging picture book where Alma, the curator of the museum, organises a fascinating collection of shapes and creates imaginative exhibitions.
While it’s a brilliant resource for learning about shapes - from familiar ones like squares, circles and triangles to more unusual forms such as clouds and octopus tentacles - the learning opportunities don’t stop there. The book naturally invites conversations about ordering, arranging and sorting, whether by colour, size, number or other criteria. Suited my librarian brain perfectly and totally engaged my five year old granddaughter with discussions about how we'd sort things, which shapes were our favourite, etc.
The clean, bright illustrations are visually appealing without being overwhelming, making the book highly accessible for younger children. It’s an excellent choice for EYFS and KS1 classrooms, encouraging curiosity, observation and discussion; a versatile addition to any early years library.
While it’s a brilliant resource for learning about shapes - from familiar ones like squares, circles and triangles to more unusual forms such as clouds and octopus tentacles - the learning opportunities don’t stop there. The book naturally invites conversations about ordering, arranging and sorting, whether by colour, size, number or other criteria. Suited my librarian brain perfectly and totally engaged my five year old granddaughter with discussions about how we'd sort things, which shapes were our favourite, etc.
The clean, bright illustrations are visually appealing without being overwhelming, making the book highly accessible for younger children. It’s an excellent choice for EYFS and KS1 classrooms, encouraging curiosity, observation and discussion; a versatile addition to any early years library.
September 11, 2025
Inspired by the actual Museum of Shapes in Germany, this book introduces readers to various geometric figures as they follow Alma, its curator, as she chooses what will be included in the museum and how everything will be displayed. Starting with a dot and progressing to shapes such as a triangle and an octagon, the book's text and images demonstrate the shapes and then provide activities through which readers can identify those shapes in various arrays. My favorite page is the last double-page spread, which shows the museum at night with all sorts of shapes lit up in yellow, a perfect reminder for readers to look around them to see beauty, wonder, and geometry in the natural world.
March 5, 2025
Hmmm… A book that guides us through the basic shapes, but doesn't mention a rectangle at all? This kind of brings more things to the party, such as a narrative about a Museum of Shapes, and questions for us to answer ourselves, but I've seen better and more comprehensive such volumes. I like the way it concedes a lot of things don't have a set named shape, and are just squiggly, splodgy or some funky geometry-less design, but – while not blocking it outright – these pages are rectangles I'd probably swap for others.
May 1, 2026
The curator of the Museum of Shapes curates the museum's holdings and creates a new exhibition.
This book helps teach shapes to young readers. It has an interactive element in which the narrator breaks the fourth wall and invites readers to answer open-ended questions.
I was disappointed in the grammatical error: "Each shape has one more angle then the previous." It should be "than" not "then." "Than" is a comparison word; "then" is a time word. The text appears to have been written by a non-native English speaker, but an editor or proofreader should have caught this. Oy!
This book helps teach shapes to young readers. It has an interactive element in which the narrator breaks the fourth wall and invites readers to answer open-ended questions.
I was disappointed in the grammatical error: "Each shape has one more angle then the previous." It should be "than" not "then." "Than" is a comparison word; "then" is a time word. The text appears to have been written by a non-native English speaker, but an editor or proofreader should have caught this. Oy!
October 22, 2025
Definitely unique and different. Definitely reminds me of geometry and trigonometry. Perhaps if you have a young child who is very interested in math and shapes this would be a good title.
Copyright 2025 in London. And apparently there is an actual Museum of Shapes in Germany called The Museum of Concrete Art and Design.
Scott County Public Library
Copyright 2025 in London. And apparently there is an actual Museum of Shapes in Germany called The Museum of Concrete Art and Design.
Scott County Public Library
March 11, 2026
I'm sure some of the geometry in this book went over their head, but my preschoolers were very insistent on me reading this book to them. They loved getting to point to and identify shapes in the illustrations. I skipped a few of the interactive questions, since I was using it with a group and it was running a little long, but I think they would have kept listening through the whole thing.
October 16, 2025
A slightly interactive book about shapes. Did a nice description of lines, points and how they make shapes. The interactive bits will appeal to kids and you can use it as a way to jump start a lesson or convo with a kid.
May 26, 2026
As mentioned in the back of this book, the Museum of shapes really does exist in a city in Germany.
I borrowed this book from the library expecting more of a story line. Instead this book could be used as a resource to teach about various shapes.
I borrowed this book from the library expecting more of a story line. Instead this book could be used as a resource to teach about various shapes.
October 15, 2025
Gorgeous!
November 27, 2025
Shapes+ concept book. A little more involved than a basic identification.
February 4, 2026
I like the concept of this book but there's one page that uses 'then' when it should be 'than'. I just think a book from award-winning author should be more polished.
March 5, 2026
Young minds engage with a variety of shapes in this colorful book that introduces a unique museum and encourages audience participation.
April 23, 2026
This book was gonna be so good but the text didn’t support it well enough-
June 8, 2026
Interesting book about an actual museum in Germany. Good illustrations, short and sweet. Would rate it 4/5 stars ⭐️ and recommend for ages 4 and up.
July 26, 2026
Switching schools in the fall, so I'm not sure yet who I could use this with, but would have been great with my SC 2nd.
June 18, 2026
This one was very detailed about shapes, but I do think for the age range that talking about angles was a little much? We enjoyed pointing out all the shapes though.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews