The Five Sides of Marjorie Rice: How to Discover a Shape is not an easy picture book to write about. Afterall, I didn’t understand half of it! This is due to the fact that there are a lot of scientific and mathematical terms where some went over my head. Therefore, this is a book that might be aimed at the “picture book crowd” but could also have an older reader group as well.
Amy Alznauer and Anna Bron (illustrations) made this March 2025 (yes 2025) book to have something for everyone. It is a math book, a history book, art story and a women’s history book. We follow Rice, a woman with limited higher education, as she goes through her childhood, to motherhood to the woman that would challenge the very thought processes of the world. And it was done within the later 20th century, showing us that while they say all the “shapes” that Rice was working on/with have been found, who knows what is still out there?
The use of art and geometry seems to be counterproductive, or counterintuitive, but it works and shows how everything (and in this case literally) is connected. Rice’s accomplishments set in motion the foundations of math, science and even art to change a bit.
Illustrations make the book in this case. While the concept could be murky for some, they are straightforward and use shapes and colors in the best way possible. Things are drawn but realistic, boldly colored and detailed as the scene needs it. Each page can be busy but that’s half the fun of things.
Read via an online reader copy, I plan on reading again, as this is not a one and done read, and plan on buying copies for my elementary school alma mater and local library.