First in a trilogy by the talented and offbeat duo Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen (Sam and Dave Dig a Hole; Extra Yarn, both Caldecott Honor Books), Triangle is an unusual early concept book. The protagonist is a dark triangle with big eyes and a pair of stumpy legs. He lives in a triangular house with a triangular door in a region of earth-toned "small triangles and medium triangles and big triangles." Our three-pointed hero wakes up one morning with a plan to play a "sneaky trick" on his friend Square. As Triangle makes his way past "shapes that weren't triangles anymore" looming boulder-like forms fill the landscape, gradually giving way to his friend's more cubical neighborhood. Arriving at Square's house, Triangle can barely contain his giggles as he begins hissing like a snake. "Oh dear dear dear!" says Square. "How many snakes are out there? Ten? Ten million? Go away, snakes!" That sneaky Triangle! But Square might have a trick of his own up his sleeve.
Cheeky Triangle and ingenuous Square's quirky relationship is reminiscent of Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad, but with a twist. Klassen does remarkable things with a minimal canvas--shapes and eyes are all he's got, after all. Triangle's mischief is all in his bright, eager gaze. Square, afraid, has wide-open, oblong eyes that look directly at the reader. As his suspicion grows, his eyes narrow: "Triangle!... Is that you?" And once he begins chasing his sneaky friend, his side-eye is priceless. This weird and wonderful picture book presents a whole new angle on shapes--and friendships. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor