All Year Round

by Susan B. Katz, Eiko Ojala (Illustrator)

A world of shapes, twelve months abound,
from four-cornered square, to circle, round.

Circle round, ready to roll. Add two sticks, a carrot and coal. (January)
A sporty diamond, player at bat. Bases loaded, tilt your hat. (June)
Triangle treats-pumpkin, peach. Want some pie? Excuse my reach! (November)

Poetic text by Susan B. Katz ( ABC Baby Me! , My Mama Earth , ABC School's for Me ) is paired with debut illustrator Eiko Ojala's intricate cut-paper artwork to bring the months and their shapes to life! Bold colors, adorable characters, and lyrical text fuse together perfectly in this truly creative look at the world around us.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Nonfiction, Autumn, Poetry, Mathematics

Paperback

First published January 5, 2016

About the author

Susan B. Katz is an award-winning, Spanish-bilingual author/illustrator with Scholastic, Penguin Random House, S&S, Bala Kids, Heinemann, Callisto/Rockridge and Barefoot Books. She has ten published books, one of which she wrote in Spanish for Scholastic, and 12 more books coming out in 2020/2021 with Simon & Schuster, Heinemann and Rockridge Press! MEDITATION STATION, a picture book about trains and mindfulness, is forthcoming with Bala Books (Shambhala) this fall and just won the International Book Award for Best Mind/Body/Spirit Children’s Book. Susan also has eight chapter book biographies due out in 2020/2021. THE STORY OF RUTH BADER GINSBURG, THE STORY OF FRIDA KAHLO and THE STORY OF JANE GOODALL are the first three titles in that series. For the past 25 years, Ms. Katz worked as a bilingual elementary educator, National Board Certified Teacher and literacy specialist. Her website is: www.SusanKatzBooks.com

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent illusrations, and clearly presented shapes, one for each month of the year.

[Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bright pictures and good for introducing shapes.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a shape for each season in this brightly colored picture book. From a circle that is part of a snowman in January, to an oval egg in March and a cone for ice cream in August and more, this book is cute and colorful and sure to be a hit with the preschool crowd.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Months, seasons, and shapes. Colorful illustrations will make learning the months of the year and geometric shapes fun for any little one.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that this book covered the concepts of shapes, seasons, the calendar/months, and some holidays; it felt like a very comprehensive book that could fit into a lot of different curriculum topics. The illustrations were cute and fun.

I did feel, however, like the book was avoiding most major holidays, which was kind of a bummer. Sometimes holidays were vaguely alluded to, but I wish they had been more obviously included. It appears as if Valentine's Day is pretty clearly referenced for February. Easter is skipped--even though this holiday sometimes happening in March or April could understandably make it challenging to include, I felt that it would have been nice to see it mentioned, and this would have helped with the fact that the March, April, and May entries in this book all felt very, very similar (in that they all referenced springtime occurrences like rain, flowers, rainbows, and animals being born). The Fourth of July is strangely passed over, Halloween is pretty clearly referenced although not directly stated (like the February/Valentine's Day entry), the November entry references eating pie together which feels like a very slight nod to Thanksgiving, and December entirely leaves out Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Awards received: This book has not received any awards.

2. Appropriate grade level(s): This book is appropriate for preschool to kindergarten.

3. Summary: This book contains verses that associate shapes with each month of the year such as circles that represent the body and head of a snowman in January. Each poem was short and highlighted a shape that was the basis of a picture highlighting an object.

4. I think this book would be good to introduce a few concepts to the class. One being rhyme and rhythm, another being shapes, and another could be seasons of the year and what months they occur in. I find it interesting how the shapes were connected to the different seasons and their associated months. I also enjoyed the large text, the bright and colorful illustrations, and the rhyming words. I think all three would keep the kids interested in reading while also making it easier.

5. Uses in the classroom:
-Used to identify rhyming and rhythm
-Used to talk about weather and the different seasons in the different months of the year
-Used to identify different shapes

[Fatime Cela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has not received any awards, and it would be appropriate for children in PreK-Kindergarten.

The book rhymes its way through the months of the year, associating a shape with each month. For example, February's shape is a heart, for a card you would send a friend.

The book has good rhyme and rhythm, which make it easy for children to follow along with, and enjoyable for them to listen to. It also introduces them to some concepts in a fun way with nice pictures.

This can be used in a classroom to have children identify rhyming words. It can also be used when teaching them shapes or months.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rhymes are a major stretch (MAJOR), but I love the layout.

To give you an idea, here's the opening rhyme:

A world of shapes,
Twelve months abound,
From four-cornered square,
To circle, round.

I didn't know how the book was set up, so I was actually a teensy bit confused by what it was saying. Then I realized each month had a different shape.

The pictures really are lovely and I admire the big blocky letters.

Would be good for a Kinder class learning shapes. Wouldn't go out of my way to read it to a class, though.

[Emilee (emileereadsbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book of shapes and seasons. Will teach kids about the calendar and fun shapes!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple digital illustrations and lively rhyming text introduce youngsters to the 12 months of the year and various shapes. With a bit of guidance from an adult or older sibling or friend, they will be tempted to try their hand at identifying objects that are in the shape of a circle, a heart, and an oval, among others, and even a figure eight. I'm betting that many readers will want to use construction paper to make some of these shapes for themselves. Having a quick review and self-test at the book's conclusion will help readers connect the shapes with the months in which they were introduced. After all, a spherical pumpkin is surely bound to be associated with October, harvest time, and Halloween. Savvy parents and teachers can quickly point out that the shapes occur in other instances and times, but are commonly associated with the ones indicated here. After all, as the book illustrates so thoroughly, shapes are with us all through the year. One point worth noting is that these are not all the common shapes with which most youngsters will be familiar so some parental guidance and discussion might be helpful while reading the book.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: A world of shapes, twelve months abound, from four-cornered square, to circle, round.
Circle round, ready to roll. Add two sticks, a carrot, and coal. January. Cut out a Heart for a special friend. Write a message, lick, stamp, send. February.

Premise/plot: A picture book teaching TWO concepts. One concept is shapes. The other concept is the months of the year. Each shape shares something about the month. For example, triangle is November's shape. It is the shape of a slice of PIE.

My thoughts: I liked it better than I thought I would. It is a concept book and not a story book, but, it is enjoyable enough. So don't expect it to be as memorable as Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with Rice.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 7 out of 10

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this book was maybe a bit too ambitious - it tried to teach shapes and months of the year at the same time, attempting to force shapes to pair with months as a memory device. I'm not sure how well that worked.
Even teaching the shapes wasn't always great, since the shapes weren't always clearly highlighted on the page. The triangle, for example, referred to a single slice of pie on a plate near the page gutter, not the whole pie pictured on the table in the center of the page. The text for the square only talked about flowers - the square itself is the box holding them. The rhymes were also clunky in several places.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am skeptical about the use of this book to teach basic shapes. The pairings between months and shapes seem arbitrary about half the time and my almost-three-year-old had trouble picking out shapes she knew in the illustrations. (The square box which holds the May flowers was the trickiest one.) I liked the use of shadow in the illustrations, and the rhyming text works fine, so we are keeping it in our repeat read-aloud pile while we have it out of the library, but it's not one we'd check out a second time.

[Nena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book ALL YEAR ROUND to my grandchildren and bought copies to give as presents to friends and other new mothers. As a teacher, I KNOW that rhyming is essential to early reading, and that’s exactly why I read Ms Katz’s books aloud to my grandchildren. The content of this book is also a teaching tool. Seasons and shapes are so much a part of young children’s lives, something they can identify with and learn from. I highly recommend ALL YEAR ROUND and other books by Susan B. Katz.

[Round Lake Area Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

A colorful book with fun, cheerful illustrations, All Year Round will help children learn shapes, colors, and the months of the year!

This book, written by an experienced educator and early literacy consultant, is a great story to read with your little one! The rhyming text and gorgeous illustrations will keep kids interested and help them learn important words that they’ll need for school.

[Scott Stabile · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful children's book! What a terrific way for children to learn about shapes and seasons. The rhyme flows effortlessly and the bold illustrations are a perfect complement. I'm a big fan of all of Ms. Katz' books, and this is as light and fun as the others. Perfect for kids!

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

each moth of the year is celebrated in shapes. Shapes are used to describe something special for that month like a triangle and circle for ice cream in august. Didn't grab me but good for learning shapes.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I appreciate what this book is trying to do, I do not feel that this book is comprehensive enough. In addition, I believe that the language (rhyming) used poses too confusing for the reader, who is in the beginning stages of learning to read, to comprehend.

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[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A colorful rhyming tale that teaches children about shapes and the months of the year. Some of the shape choices were clearly chosen for their seasonal appropriateness and not because of how much they show up in life, like a figure eight and a half circle.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shapes/Seasons storytime

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the concept and the illustrations were colorful and bold. However, the rhyming text was pretty weak.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good shapes & seasons book.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be great to do in baby/toddler story time and make some bags of the shapes to take home.

[Linda Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toddler Storytime

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walks through the year through shapes of all types that correlate to the seasons or what may happen during the month. Shape names are large on the page but shapes are not as clear.

[Heather Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

megan winter reading 2016, children's book, picture book, holidays, shapes, calendar, months, prek, kindergarten, first grade

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book, but to use with even K students, shapes have to have their proper names, instead of a diamond, rhombus. Great for pre-K though!

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Months and shapes in one!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preschoolers and maybe up through 1st grade will enjoy this picture book about the months of the year and different things to celebrate in each one.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really awful, but just so dull and mediocre it hurts.