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The Shape Game    by Anthony Browne Amazon.com order for
Shape Game
by Anthony Browne
Order:  USA  Can
Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2003 (2003)
Hardcover
* * *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

Anthony Browne takes us along on a childhood visit to the Tate Britain Gallery in London, England, to celebrate his mother's birthday. Dad (somewhat of a philistine) makes bad jokes and big brother George would rather watch soccer on TV. But Mom talks about the paintings and they start to see what she sees in them.

There are pictures side by side that are almost, but not quite, the same - it's fun to spot all the differences. George thinks a warlike scene is 'GREAT!' but it's not so great to imagine it happening close to home. A beach scene brings back other memories, a lion is frighteningly real, and Dad shows up everywhere. On the way home, Mom introduces them all to 'a brilliant drawing game ... the shape game'.

The Shape Game takes a unique perspective on the introduction of art to children, encouraging them to see it through the eyes of their imaginations, and to explore the potential of different shapes. Read it together, then visit an art gallery and play the 'shape game'.

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