Shape Up Goz

There are lots of Goz books, sweet lift-the-flap books about a gosling growing up and saying goodnight. But it’s such a mistake to go worthy and educational and try to focus on shapes when you get it so wrong. Confusion and flaps come in pairs. You open two square flaps to see the horse in the rectangular door frame saying ‘My special shape is a square’. But we’re looking at an oblong door frame. There’s a family of ants under a brick. No, Goz, that’s a cuboid, not a rectangle. The third has bats living in a triangle. But, Goz, a roof is (often) a prism with two triangular faces. Eggs aren’t oval. And ponds are rarely round. You can’t deal with 3D shapes by pretending they are 2D. Don’t contrive the real world to fit the naming of shapes. The pictures of Goz are nice.