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Cubes, Cones, Cylinders, & Spheres: Incomparable Photographs About Shapes Around Us for Kids
Cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres. Sounds sophisticated? Only until you look at Tana Hoban's incomparable photographs and realize that those shapes are the stuff of everyday life. They are all around us all the time. In our houses, on our streets, in our hands. In yet another breathtaking book, Tana Hoban wakes us up to our world and makes us see it.
24 pages, Hardcover
First published September 19, 2000
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57 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 2, 2012
Genre: Concept Picture Book
Summary: Cubes, Cones, Cylinders & Spheres is a wordless book that encourages children to discover these shapes all around them through the use of 35 mm photographs reflecting everything from cityscapes to castles.
Literary Critique: (a.) Ability to engage and teach the concepts of cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres
(b.) The author engages the young reader with extremely interesting photographs that both teach the shape concepts as well as encourage critical thinking skills.
(c.) On the publishing information page there are 4 small, simple, white cartoonish drawings of the four shapes on a bright green background, each next to its printed name, also in white. Because the reader is translating these cartoon figures into real-life photograph identification of the shapes, critical thinking skills are immediately engaged. On the first page is a photograph of wooden blocks, some with letters, some with numbers, and some with colors. Not only does the child begin to identify the shape, but with direction the child can be encouraged to name the letters, the colors, or count the red blocks. Many of the pictures are extremely fun and interesting for a child such as the girl holding two ice cream cones (p. 2) or the boy blowing bubbles (p. 5). Children immediately recognize activities they love. Some of the photographs are more quizzical and can be used to encourage children to think about what is happening or to make up a story to go with the photograph. On page 7 a woman is standing on some kind of cylinder pedestal in a concrete field of similar pedestals. Children can wonder about what she is doing, where this takes place, and why she is up there.
Curriculum Connection: Math: read the book aloud and have young children identify the shapes. Then encourage the children to look around their classroom or their school to find the shapes. Writing: Have each child pick a picture and write a short story.
Summary: Cubes, Cones, Cylinders & Spheres is a wordless book that encourages children to discover these shapes all around them through the use of 35 mm photographs reflecting everything from cityscapes to castles.
Literary Critique: (a.) Ability to engage and teach the concepts of cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres
(b.) The author engages the young reader with extremely interesting photographs that both teach the shape concepts as well as encourage critical thinking skills.
(c.) On the publishing information page there are 4 small, simple, white cartoonish drawings of the four shapes on a bright green background, each next to its printed name, also in white. Because the reader is translating these cartoon figures into real-life photograph identification of the shapes, critical thinking skills are immediately engaged. On the first page is a photograph of wooden blocks, some with letters, some with numbers, and some with colors. Not only does the child begin to identify the shape, but with direction the child can be encouraged to name the letters, the colors, or count the red blocks. Many of the pictures are extremely fun and interesting for a child such as the girl holding two ice cream cones (p. 2) or the boy blowing bubbles (p. 5). Children immediately recognize activities they love. Some of the photographs are more quizzical and can be used to encourage children to think about what is happening or to make up a story to go with the photograph. On page 7 a woman is standing on some kind of cylinder pedestal in a concrete field of similar pedestals. Children can wonder about what she is doing, where this takes place, and why she is up there.
Curriculum Connection: Math: read the book aloud and have young children identify the shapes. Then encourage the children to look around their classroom or their school to find the shapes. Writing: Have each child pick a picture and write a short story.
December 6, 2011
1. Wordless/ Concept Picture Book—Shapes
2. This book shows photos of objects in the shapes of cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres.
3. A. Photography/ wordless
B. The back flap of the book states, “Tana Hoban’s photographs have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and in galleries around the world.” The strengths of this book are definitely found in the photography. Hoban takes a close look at the world of shapes that tantalize the reader’s senses. The weakness of this book is the lack of words. Cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres are concepts that may be a bit difficult to understand for a young reader.
C. The photography is very “crisp.” For example, in the picture of the boy with the spherical bubble, one can see the sunlight reflect on it causing a rainbow of colors within the bubble. The photos also pay respects to the reader’s senses: the reader can “taste” the melting ice cream cones and feel the cool air in the picture of the barn.
Unfortunately, words would be useful in the pictures. How is a beginning reader going to know what is a cube from a cone from a cylinder from a sphere? Words to accompany which photos showed this shape would have been helpful, especially in the photos with more than one shape. For example, the picture of the castle has cones and cylinders.
4. I would recommend showing this book to students AFTER teaching students about cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres. I would also consider bringing this into a geometry classroom to show real life examples of what is being taught.
2. This book shows photos of objects in the shapes of cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres.
3. A. Photography/ wordless
B. The back flap of the book states, “Tana Hoban’s photographs have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and in galleries around the world.” The strengths of this book are definitely found in the photography. Hoban takes a close look at the world of shapes that tantalize the reader’s senses. The weakness of this book is the lack of words. Cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres are concepts that may be a bit difficult to understand for a young reader.
C. The photography is very “crisp.” For example, in the picture of the boy with the spherical bubble, one can see the sunlight reflect on it causing a rainbow of colors within the bubble. The photos also pay respects to the reader’s senses: the reader can “taste” the melting ice cream cones and feel the cool air in the picture of the barn.
Unfortunately, words would be useful in the pictures. How is a beginning reader going to know what is a cube from a cone from a cylinder from a sphere? Words to accompany which photos showed this shape would have been helpful, especially in the photos with more than one shape. For example, the picture of the castle has cones and cylinders.
4. I would recommend showing this book to students AFTER teaching students about cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres. I would also consider bringing this into a geometry classroom to show real life examples of what is being taught.
December 15, 2016
This is a picture book that show different shapes--cones, cylinders and spheres. The book shows real-life examples of where we see these shapes.
I would use this in a 1-3rd grade classroom when we are discussing shapes in math. I could bring this book out to introduce the shape we're learning and show the picture of it. Another idea is to have students think of real-life examples of where we see these shapes and then show them the real-life picture of the shape. I think that this is a great book for students to simply make real-world connections to. Often times, students wonder why they are learning something and when they're ever going to use it. This book shows when you would see something such as these shapes again.
I would use this in a 1-3rd grade classroom when we are discussing shapes in math. I could bring this book out to introduce the shape we're learning and show the picture of it. Another idea is to have students think of real-life examples of where we see these shapes and then show them the real-life picture of the shape. I think that this is a great book for students to simply make real-world connections to. Often times, students wonder why they are learning something and when they're ever going to use it. This book shows when you would see something such as these shapes again.
September 1, 2014
Genre: Concept Book
This wordless book supports budding geometry explorers with very visual examples of these 3D shapes. Readers will make connections to ice-cream cones and presents as they learn about shapes.
Themes: Math/geometry
Ways to use this book: This book would make for a great spring-board into a school-wide shape hunt. As the class reads this together and makes connections with shapes in our world, they will be ready to move into a walk around the school building to find more shapes.
This wordless book supports budding geometry explorers with very visual examples of these 3D shapes. Readers will make connections to ice-cream cones and presents as they learn about shapes.
Themes: Math/geometry
Ways to use this book: This book would make for a great spring-board into a school-wide shape hunt. As the class reads this together and makes connections with shapes in our world, they will be ready to move into a walk around the school building to find more shapes.
August 9, 2014
You're given some basic fundamental things to look for, then set out on your own through the world, viewing a series of photographs for these basic three dimensional shapes. Good way to remind your kids that there's more to life than circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles. But you have to get them there to the other side, holding their hand along the way. Such is life when sugar cubes are used to create fortresses, flying flags of allegiance and inviting attack from rival confectioners.
Want to Read
August 19, 2014Photographs of all kinds of familiar objects depict a variety of shapes including cubes, cones & spheres.
Cubes, cones, cylinders & spheres. Sounds sophisticated? Only until you look @ Tana Hoban's incomparable photographs & realize that those shapes are the stuff of everyday life. They are all around us all the time. In our houses, on our streets, in our hands. In yet another breathtaking book, Tana Hoban wakes us up to our world & makes us see it.
Cubes, cones, cylinders & spheres. Sounds sophisticated? Only until you look @ Tana Hoban's incomparable photographs & realize that those shapes are the stuff of everyday life. They are all around us all the time. In our houses, on our streets, in our hands. In yet another breathtaking book, Tana Hoban wakes us up to our world & makes us see it.
January 23, 2011
I was looking for children's picture books dealing with geometry. Boy was this a find. Another book by this author that focuses on the photographs of real things. It has no words but leaves the 'reader' to insert them at their level. Wonderful for small children and for language learners.
April 21, 2012
I really don't like that this book is wordless. I do like the real life examples in the photos of the different shapes. I would use this book in geometry to introduce the particular shapes and refer back to the book for different examples of each that we see everyday.
March 8, 2010
This is a great picture book that reminds us that shapes are everywhere we look.
May 5, 2010
another great photograph book that uses real world images to help the reader recognize shapes.
Read
November 11, 2010picture book. great for sharing shapes with students and seeing shapes in the real world
July 29, 2014
This book has great photographs with shapes for the students to find.
February 6, 2021
There are so many things to inspire creative chatter with a toddler, not just the shapes, but lots of colors and scenes as well.
February 13, 2016
This book is just of pictures, but they are pictures of everyday items that are in the shape of either a cube, cone, cylinder or sphere. It helps children recognize that these are not just math terms and drawings someone made up; that they are items they see every where! It can help put that concept in a different perspective for those children who are struggling with geometry.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews