Circle

What’s it about?

The story.

Circle rules a peaceful place by a waterfall. There is one rule: you must be kind. Triangle wants to come in. Circle is not sure. She knows what Triangle did to Square. Square vouches for Triangle anyway, Square has forgiven him. Circle must decide: does she let Triangle in? Should past behaviour determine present judgement? Mac Barnett leaves the answer ambiguous in ways that generate genuine conversation with children, and the book is best read after Triangle so the reader knows exactly what Circle knows. The most philosophically serious of the three, it reads almost like a fable, and Circle's dilemma, the tension between justice and mercy, between rules and exceptions, is one that lands differently at different ages. Jon Klassen's illustrations show the waterfall in extraordinary light, the most visually ambitious of the three books. A rich discussion-starter for families: do you let Triangle in? Children and adults often disagree. The ideal conclusion to the trilogy, though each book stands alone.