Circle by Mac Barnett, Illustrated by Jon Klassen

Head shot of Ellysa Stern Cahoy.

Courtesy of Ellysa Stern Cahoy.

Ellysa Stern Cahoy was a member of the 2019 Geisel Award Committee. She is an Education Librarian and Assistant Director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book in the Penn State University Libraries, University Park, PA. 


Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen (2012 Geisel Honor for I Want My Hat Back) are back with the final entry in their Shape Trilogy, focused on the misadventures of geometrically shaped friends. Circle follows Square and Triangle, and the book is similar to the other titles in this triumvirate in design and plot structure. 

Circle by Mac Barnett, 

illustrated by Jon Klassen 

book cover

Circle, Square, and Triangle are friends, and like all friends, they have their quirks. Triangle is a trickster, and is always trying to mischievously fool his friends. Square is, like his shape, more conventional and tries hard to follow the rules. Circle is also a lover of rules and is a good friend to all. In Circle, he plays hide and seek with Triangle and Square, and implores the two to follow his rules -- the most important of which is no hiding behind his waterfall (because it is dark behind it). While Square follows the rules (of course), Triangle (of course) does not, and Circle is forced to go behind the waterfall to rescue his three-cornered friend. A mysterious encounter follows, and Triangle and Circle quickly make their way back outside to safety and their pal Square. As with all of the Shape Trilogy books, Circle ends with an open-ended question related to the story and directed towards the reader. 

Image of Circle, Square, and Triangle look at Circle's waterfall from Circle by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Each of the Shape Trilogy books feature a cardboard cover with rounded edges, with the cover featuring the shape at the center of each book. The design is very artistic and spare, placing the focus on the illustrations, created digitally and with watercolor and graphite. The page layout is very clean and simple, and the New Century Schoolbook font is one used in many easy reader texts. There is ample white space and the text is placed in accompaniment to illustrations in a manner that is easily navigable to readers. At 42 pages, the book more than meets the minimum number of pages required for Geisel consideration. The sentences are simple, straightforward, and repeat words, such as ‘waterfall’, ‘dark’, ‘rules’, and ‘farther’. The illustrations are evocative (including those picturing the darkness behind the waterfall) and match the plot, which is well paced and encourages the reader to finish the book. The innovative design, creative illustrations, and unique plot combine to create a successful experience for the reader. 

Image of Circle searching the darkness for Triangle from Circle by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Will Circle make the Geisel Award list for 2020? It is perhaps telling that Circle’s predecessors, Triangle and Square, have not been recognized by prior Geisel Award Committees. While the books in this series are highly original, they are also very quirky. Each book (Circle included) ends with an existential question (in Circle, it is directed at the mysterious shape encountered in the darkness behind the waterfall, asking the reader, “If you close your eyes, what shape do you picture?” The brief, episodic plot and ending philosophical question makes Circle (and the earlier titles) feel slight. Circle’s darkness encounter behind the waterfall involves mistaken identity, and may be confusing to some. While the Shape Trilogy titles are beautiful, highly creative, and well constructed easy readers, they are perhaps not books that a young reader would want to hear more than once. 

What are your thoughts? Do you think that Circle will be the shape that gains Geisel attention?