We’re loving this super cute and fun new book by Caryl Hart with illustrations by Edward Underwood, Bears Love Squares.

Raccoon is desperate to get Bear to appreciate all different shapes but Bear isn’t having any of it because “BEARS LOVE SQUARES!”. Will Raccoon be able to convince his pal to step out of his comfort zone and embrace all of the variety the shape world has to offer?

With rhyming text, bright illustrations that pop from the page and 2 extremely loveable characters, we think this book is brilliant and it has been requested by Wee Reader A LOT. He mostly enjoys how Bear gets more and more frustrated and grumpy as the story progresses, though Bear proves himself to be a warm-hearted and sweet friend by the end.

Reading this book has genuinely been so helpful in getting my 3 year old to be able to identify squares and I’m hopeful that, over time, it might also help him pick out triangles and rectangles too. What is particularly clever is how facts about shapes just fit so seamlessly into the story, so the book provides some quality “stealth-learning”.

Fans of Steve Antony’s Mr Panda books are going to go mad for Bears Love Squares as well as anyone trying to introduce shapes to children at home or in a foundation stage setting.

With thanks for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Despite Racoon’s best efforts to show Bear the joys of other shapes, Bear only loves squares. Edwards illustrations are lovely and fun and the text placement adds to the geometric gags. Caryl have cleverly woven facts about shapes into this book so that the learning is secondary to the fun story of friendship.

My daughter loves books about shapes and was willing Racoon on to help Bear see the beauty of all the other shapes too. The ending is delightful and has a lovely message about seeing the world from another perspective whilst staying true to yourself.

A wonderful and fun introduction to shapes from the ever-brilliant Caryl Hart. With gorgeous, bright illustrations, this is the perfect story to help teach little ones shapes.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for providing a digital review copy.

This book was adorable and my four year old daughter loved it. She loved the illustrations and that the bear was so sure he loved squares. She related to the bear but then saw by the end that it is okay to like other things too. My daughter sometimes struggles with this, so it was great to see the bear find another shape he loved.

We loved how the writing was set out around the shapes, and it was easy to read. We'll be adding this book to our bookshelf.

A lovely, joyful picture book about a bear who is VERY insistent that he only likes squares. No other shape will do. None of them. Bear is very toddler like in his inisitence, putting his foot down and refusing to look at the other tempting shapes his very patient friend is waving under his nose. Until... well, there's one shape that does capture his attention!
Vibrant, joyful and sure to bring out a few giggles.

My toddler absolutely loved this book! It’s illustrations are quirky and eye catching and the content is engaging and educational! We are currently learning about shapes at home but this would be relevant in nurseries, preschools, primary schools and homes alike. A lovely book with hidden learning which is always a bonus!

An adorable picture book that would be appreciated by 3 - 6 year olds. Bear loves squares, and talks about them - his friend goes through lots of other shapes, describing them to try and persuade him. Rectangles, circles, pentagons, hexagons and stars, bear cannot be persuaded - until he is given a heart shape! Ideal for introducing Foundation Stage to shapes, the rhymes are great to read aloud.

This is an adorable children's book all about shapes. Bear absolutely loves squares, no other shape will do. A friendly racoon wants to show bear that other shapes can be just as good as squares. However, for bear no shape compares to the square. He loves the simplicity of them, he doesn't like pointy shapes or ones that are too long and thin! Squares are simply the best.

Racoon keeps trying and trying to find the perfect shape for bear that isn't a square. He's about to give up, until he finds the perfect shape to share. Maybe squares and another shape are ok for bear!

The illustrations in this book are absolutely superb and match the story excellently. I can see this being another brilliant book to use in school to support children learning the correct terminology for each shape. It could also be used as a teaching tool to help them learn the properties of shape or be used as part of a shape hunt around the classroom/school.

A perfect book for younger readers that definitely has a lot of heart!

Caryl Hart is the Queen of Picture Books and this one is no exception. With bright, bold illustrations from Edward Underwood to accompany the story of bear and his love of squares, this is sure to be a popular book.

Bear only loves squares, no other shape compares. He is shown other shapes with similar properties but nothing can distract him from his favourite. He loves the corners, the uniformity and the size. Saying no to triangles, hexagons and circles, bear just won't listen.

Until one last shape is shared....a heart. Finally seeing reason, Bear loves the heart shape.
The heart is a beautiful shape and I feel the shape represents the friendship and love between the characters as well as promoting acceptance of those that are different.

A perfect book for learning the shapes and terminology of the properties of shapes, it will reinforce early shape recognition.

Delightful and perfect for little readers!

My kids and I absolutely loved this book! A raccoon tries to persuade a bear to consider liking shapes other than squares. The story rhymes throughout, is funny and entertaining. The accompanying illustrations are vibrant and capture the attention of kids easily. This is a great story that entertains children while also teaching them about different shapes. My 4 year old was completely absorbed by it, my 6 year old could read the story himself and it is fun for adults to read to their children - a winner all round!

Bears love squares. Not rectangles. Not triangles. And certainly not circles. But there is one other shape that Bear might love just as much...

This sweet, funny picture book is a great way to introduce shapes to young readers. Every page includes a few basic facts about shapes which, because of the rhyme scheme, fit naturally into the story without it feeling didactic. There are real world applications for the shapes too, such as triangular mountains and balls. This story would be excellent at home or in an early years setting.

The illustrations are bright and the shapes pop on the page. They're funny too, and had my three-year-old giggling from page one.

Well even I can see this is an outstanding success, and I don't have a classroom of toddlers to read it with. That's what's needed, for the book acts as a lesson in shapes, and has a wonderful call-and-response chorus with the bear that (thinks he only) loves squares. And it even has an ending to a plot, of sorts, that surprises and pleases. I'm not sure about some of the more cubist portraits of the bear (with the nose out one side of the head and the eyes flush on in the middle of his face), but all told this is rollicking good fun for educators to whip out for a good five minutes' worth of rhyming group reading.

What a cute book. We liked the bright colours and the cute illustrations. This book is all about different shapes and how much Bears love squares and could his friend change his mind?!. We liked the other animals playing with different shapes too. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

This was such an adorable story and a brilliant way to introduce shapes to children. We thought it was funny and Ada loved trying to say the different shop names and even started saying Bears Love Squares with him. It is a cute a fun read and one we will enjoy reading again.

Bright, engaging and educational.
My boys (3 & 1) enjoyed me reading it to them. The text flows easily with satisfying rhymes &, as it's easy to tell whether it's bear or raccoon speaking, you can give them different voices to add to the fun.
A lovely book for pre-school children.