Are you looking for some Shapes children’s books to use in your classroom that include literacy extension ideas? This list may be just what you are looking for!
Shapes of any kind are a wonderful theme and are filled with some exciting literacy experiences to explore. You may have had the opportunity to read some of these Shapes books already, but hopefully some will be a new adventure for you and your kids. Whether you like or dislike Shapes, try these engaging books and some of the extension activities suggested.
1. Shapes At Play by Silvia Borando
Squares, triangles, and circles. Playtime! When shapes start moving around, there’s no telling what new shapes they can make or how far they can go.
Did you know that a bunch of triangles together can build a bigger triangle? Or that stacking a lot of little squares makes one giant one? And when circles start bouncing around, all sorts of things can happen! Houses and castles spring up, magnificent fruit trees sprout, cars, and trains hurry by, and even a blastoff to Mars!
Literacy Extensions:
- Shapes Literature List
- Student Booklet: “My Favorite Shape”
- Shapes Counting
- My Shapes Story: Student Worksheets
2. Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert
This Caldecott Honor Book is a visually exciting introduction to colors, shapes, and animals for preschoolers. Share this classic die-cut concept book at home or at circle time. Boldly designed pages easily carry to the rear of the room during story hours, and brilliant primary colors will make children’s eyes tingle.
This book is about concepts shapes, colors, and animals. but also, about looking at the world in a new and creative way. Shapes and colors in your zoo, lots of things that you can do. Heads and ears, beaks, and snouts, that’s what animals are all about. I know animals and you do too; make some new ones for your zoo.
Literacy Extensions:
- “I Can Make Shapes” Classroom Book
- “Shape Counting” Student Booklet
- Venn Diagram Comparing Circles vs Squares
- Shapes Build a Two Addend Number Sentence
3. Circle, Square, Moose by Kelly L. Bingham
In this companion to the acclaimed Z Is for Moose, Moose infiltrates a book about shapes. He loves shapes, naturally and it is up to his best friend, Zebra, to restore order and save the day.
This hilarious book manages to illustrate a fact or two about shapes while providing a three-dimensional stomping ground for best friends Moose and Zebra. What will happen? Who will save the day? It’s all up in the air until the final page, where Moose and Zebra and Cat create a perfectly heartwarming ending.
Themes of friendship, exploration, and conflict resolution—and of course the concept of shapes, including the shape of a book—make this an ideal read-aloud for the elementary school classroom and for home!
Literacy Extensions:
- Classroom Book: My Favorite Shape
- Shapes Story Parts Worksheet
- Black Glue Shapes Art Project
- Shapes Number & Ten Frame Match Game
4. Go Shapes, Go by Denis Fleming
Join a group of fun-loving shapes as they collaborate and create in this picture book. Come along on a creative adventure with a gang of saucy shapes and a mischievous mouse who wants to play too.
Meet circles, rectangles, ovals, arcs, and a triangle and a square as well. Wait till you see what this crowd can make when they’re all working together!
Literacy Extensions:
- Shapes Literature List
- Shapes Story Parts: Student Worksheet
- Shapes Roll It! Read It! Short Vowels
- Shape People or Monsters Art Project
5. Shape Shift by Joyce Hesselberth
A boy and a girl introduce nine shapes: triangle, semicircle, crescent, trapezoid, rectangle, circle, oval, diamond, and square. Then they start putting the shapes together to see what they look like.
With vibrant illustrations that highlight shapes in all their forms, this informative book reinforces the identification of many shapes while encouraging kids to pair shapes together to make new forms.
Literacy Extensions:
- “I Can Make Shapes” Classroom Book
- Shapes Story Sequencing Student Worksheet
- Shapes Art Project
- Shapes Add & Subtract Match Game
6. Circle Dogs by Kevin Hennkes
Young readers will want to wiggle and bounce and dig through the day with the circle dogs until it’s time for bed! The circle dogs live in a big, square house with a big, square yard. See the dogs? See the circles?
The sun comes up, the baby cries, and the circle dogs stretch and yawn. With a flip-flap of their tails the rambunctious pooches are off to spend a happy day with Mama, Papa, Big Sister, and Baby in the big square house.
The wonderfully fresh and vivid look of the artwork paired with the rhythmic whimsical cadence of the text makes this book a perfect choice for very young audiences.
Literacy Extensions:
- Shapes Word Bank
- Shapes Literature Retelling Organizer Student Page
- Shapes Make a Short Vowel Word Game
- Shapes Roll & Cover Math Games
7. Shapes, Shapes, Shapes by Tana Hoban
Geometric shapes are all around us! In this wordless book from top-selling picture-book creator, children learn to look closely to find them. Circles, squares, stars, triangles, hearts, and rectangles, how many can you see?
Simple, clear, practical, Shapes, Shapes, Shapes is a fun way for children to learn. Sit together with a child at home or in a preschool classroom and use this book to enjoyably teach this core geometry. Dozens of real-world photographs of buildings, shoes, people at work, and more help young readers build observation skills as they hunt for shapes hidden in plain sight.
Literacy Extensions:
- “I Can Make Shapes” Student Booklet
- Shapes Make a Short Vowel Word
- Shapes Sight Word Games
- Shapes Build 2 Addend Addition Number Sentences
8. Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Three mice named Violet, Martin, and Fred escape from a big, scary cat by hiding in a pile of shapes. “Look,” says Violet, once the coast is clear, “we can make things with them.”
The mice use the circles, triangles, and squares to create all sorts of pictures: a house, a tree, a book, and a fish. What can you make with one oval, two circles, and eight triangles? Just ask three clever mice who even find a funny way to trick a sneaky cat.
Literacy Extensions:
- “Shapes Can” Classroom Book
- Shapes Letter & Sound Match Game
- Shapes Build a Word
- Shapes Numbers & Ten Frames Math Game
Finally, there are so many Pirate children’s books you can choose from. From fiction to nonfiction, the list of Pirate books is endless. Remember to pick the books that best fit the needs of your students or children and support your learning activities. Happy Reading!
Find some more literacy and extension activities in my store, The Teaching Scene by Maureen.
To read more blog topics check out my blog, “A Guide to Using Literature-Based Units of Study.”
