Shapes of Australia by Bronwyn Bancroft

Little Hare, 2017. ISBN 9781760129286
So often we walk around with our eyes open but we don't really see anything. Yes, we see trees and rocks and distant mountains and even birds in the sky but do we ever see the distinctive shapes they make and the patterns within them?
With her artist's eye, Bronwyn Bancroft has taken the items we take for granted and brought them to life through colour and pattern in the distinctive way that only she can, ensuring that next time we see ocean waves and river boulders, even city skyscrapers, we will look at them with new eyes.
Inspirational for its bold use of colour, intricate, detailed patterns and simplified geometry emphasised by the shapes within the shapes, this visually stunning book will also inspire poetry as students appreciate the simple sentences that accompany each picture building metaphors like the "crystal shards" of skyscrapers and the "quilt of nature's comfort" of the grasslands.
An excellent companion to Colours of Australia, students could be encouraged to examine the unique shapes of their own landscapes, even if that is just the playground, and reproduce them in Bancroft style.
Barbara Braxton