Watch This!

by Jane Godwin

Can you make a circle with your arms?
Or a triangle with your fingers?
If we work together, we can make a rectangle, or even a pyramid.
We can make lots and lots of shapes – just watch this!

A bold and playful celebration of movement, energy, pattern, colour and shape!

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Mathematics, Photography

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2018

About the author

Jane Godwin is the Publisher, Books for Children and Young Adults, at Penguin Books Australia. She is also a highly acclaimed author of many books for children. Her work is published internationally and she has received many commendations. The Family Tree won the 2000 Queensland Premier's Award (Children's Books); Sebby, Stee, the Garbos and Me was shortlisted for the 1999 New South Wales State Literary Award (Patricia Wrightson Prize) and was a YABBA finalist; and The True Story of Mary was shortlisted for the 2006 CBCA Book of the Year Awards, Younger Readers. In 2009 her picture book with illustrator Anna Walker, Little Cat and the Big Red Bus, was a notable book in the CBCA Awards and was also shortlisted for the Speech Pathology Australia Awards, Lower Primary division. Jane's most recent novel is Falling From Grace, and her most recent picture book is All Through the Year, illustrated by Anna Walker, due for publication in October 2010.

Jane lives in Melbourne with her family. Her hobbies seem to have fallen by the wayside a little since she has taken on the role of publisher, but from what she remembers, they were playing tennis, walking, reading (things other than manuscripts), doing cryptic crosswords, talking about the need to do gardening (and sometimes even doing it), cooking, playing piano, spending time with friends and mucking around with family which consists of partner Michael and two adolescents, Wil (19) and Lizzie (17). She still manages the cryptic crosswords, friends and family.

Jane also enjoys working creatively with school students, encouraging them to develop confidence in their own creativity, ideas and abilities.

Reviews

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative and fun. This would be a blast to try out with a group of kids.

[Scribe Publications]

Watch This! is a groundbreaking modern photographic picture book about children using their bodies to make sense of shapes in a playful way, form three high-acclaimed Australian creators. A bold and playful celebration of movement, energy, pattern, colour and shape!
Good Reading

This Australian concept book involves the whole body. Twelve children bend, twist, and join limbs to form various shapes, all photographed against large, patterned pops of colour ... Walker expertly photographs from various angles, though the overhead shots are by far the most clever and amusing. The shapes start to get more complicated (a star, a diamond) until interpretations become a bit looser and more creative. Children standing side by side holding hands are a wavy line, and two others hiding behind Ari with arms straight out becomes a six-armed ‘Ari-tangle.’ Orpin’s backgrounds and frames often echo the shapes in case extra reinforcement is needed. The children are racially diverse with names hinting at ethnic diversity as well, and playful touches (tongues out, gleeful smiles) expertly capture childlike exuberance. A treat for all learners, kinaesthetic or otherwise.
Kirkus

[M]ore than a book about shapes. It is, but it’s also a book that is subtly about movement and exercise, about friendship and co-operation, and about how much fun learning about and experiencing all of those things can be.
Baby Librarians

Charismatic, collaborative and creative shapes made with engaging kids who twist, turn and work together. A bold and bright book that will get you moving and inspire kids to create their own shapes. A perfect classroom read aloud and activity.
Jesica Sweedler DeHart, Librarian Review, Neill Public Library

[Alix Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watch This! is a brilliant picture book that exudes joy from every page, with the bright colours and lively text making it a great book to read aloud to small children. The pages are big and sturdy enough that they can help turn the pages too! The photographs by Hilary Walker and visual art by Beci Orpin just add to the vivacity of the book. This book teaches children shapes in a way I have never seen before, and I can imagine that children will be much more interested in seeing other children create the shapes, rather than them being just two-dimensional objects on a page. Godwin cleverly combines learning shapes and advocating fitness, and this is done so skillfully in this book. The fact that the children are named at the beginning of the book means that you can introduce them all to your child, incorporating memory and reading skills.

Altogether, Watch This! is a brilliantly inventive picturebook that is fun and colourful and can teach your child a lot. This book is recommended from 0-4 years, and makes the perfect book to read together.

www.delightfulbookreviews.blogspot.com

[Kristin Guay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that features photographs of adorable children making different shapes will be a hit with me. This book is so cute because it can be so engaging for even the youngest children. The photographs feature 12 children with various ethnicities and ages (around three to maybe five years old). Some children make shapes all on their own such as a circle or a triangle, but then groups of children will get together to make the same shape. The children start out making basic shapes such as circle, triangle, square, rectangle, semicircle, star, and diamond. Then it gets a little more silly--one girl walking on her hands while another child holds her feet up and kids lined up making wavy lines or zig-zags. Three children even get together to make a small pyramid. At the end of the book, they are all in an exhausted heap on the floor.

The children are dressed in black t-shirts and long pants and they are positioned against colorful backgrounds of polka-dot, checked, and other various designs. This method really helps to set out the design they are creating, so there is no confusion.

[Flossmoor Public Library (IL) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

This nonfiction book would be a perfect example for exercises for kids/families that are stuck inside because of social distancing. The movements and exercises in this book will help kids to use their imagination and problem solve on “how to make this shape with just their bodies”. It features 12 children ranging from about age three to six years old, of diverse races, so all families are represented. It is interesting to see how the children think outside the box to create these shapes.

- Miss Jenny

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE the bright, clear photographs in this book! Kids practice making different shapes with their bodies. This would easily translate into a storytime book (although as the shapes get more and more complex, I'm sure the kids would want to make ALL the shapes from the book--pyramids, wheelbarrow stance, sitting in a star, etc). I bet it could be adapted so it wouldn't be too overwhelming active for a group reading.

[Jenn Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and potentially interactive book about shapes. At first I thought it felt dated because you don't see many picture books with simple photographs of real kids anymore, but I think it works, and personally I'd be happy to see that style revived.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Photographs of children making different shapes alone and together. I enjoyed that all the children are named in the front. Diverse

[Freddie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

A celebration of movement and fun!

[Aolund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[Maggie Ignasiak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once the world look different, I hope to use this in a movement and motion storytime.

[Calli Leventis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to combine with movements or even a yoga storytime

[Lara Bate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about making shapes with your body.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun, inspiring imitation and movement! Children make different shapes with their bodies. I loved that each child is named, making it feel special and unique.

[SamSamSam · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's so much appeal built into this title, and I love how conversationally it was written. I really want this to become a series. WRITE, PLAY, TALK, print motivation, letter knowledge

[Maeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children create different shapes with their bodies! From circles to squares and even some made-up shapes, too!

[AD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great books for early childhood (Preschool-age) about shapes. Getting kids to create shapes with their bodies will create an extra sense of appeal for a child reader and also adds an element of interactivity as kids will no doubt try to make some of these shapes (and some new ones) themselves. A fun book.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher at ALA Annual 2019. I also accessed a digital review copy through Edelweiss.