One More Try

“Circle is a joyful soul who’s always having fun,When playing with the other shapes, he’s not to be outdone!When squares and hexagons make a tower right up to the sky,Circle gathers the other shapes and said ‘let’s give that a try!’But a problem soon is found as it’s really hard to stack,When you have curved edges, they keep on falling back.Determined to succeed, he travels far and wide,He works on getting stronger, until he is satisfied.He works on getting smarter maybe that’s the key,But then a star helps him realise something he couldn’t see!For if at first you don’t succeed you should keep on trying,As one more try may be the difference to become high flying.”Naomi and James Jones’ previous book ‘The Perfect Fit’ is one of my favourite picture books to use in school! So clever and with an important message while perfect for underpinning the learning of shapes and their properties – It ticks all boxes! So when I saw a follow up in a similar vein, I had to check it out!Circle is hanging out with all the other shapes and having a great time! When he sees the squares and hexagons make a tall tower, circle is in awe!Full of enthusiasm and the fear of missing out, Circle gathers his friends the triangles to make a tower for themselves but unfortunately, every time they try, their curved and pointy edges means the tower topples over. They can’t scale the same heights as the squares and hexagons.Determined to succeed, Circle works hard on getting stronger and smarter but still he just can’t crack it, until one night a star gives him the inspiration he needs to give it one more try…Just like ‘The Perfect Fit’ this is a brilliant book to teach children the power of resilience and determination while also developing their problem solving skills.As a resource for a EYFS or KS1 maths lesson, it allows children to familiarise themselves with the names of the shapes while also beginning to show an understanding of the properties of a 2D shape.The illustrations are bright, vibrant and quirky with funny little speech bubbles from the shapes offering encouragement or narration as the story develops. The challenge, when reading aloud, is always to have a different voice for each shape… not an easy feat I can assure you.Books like ‘The Perfect Fit’ and ‘One More Try’ makes me wish I was teaching in EYFS or KS1 as you could create so many wonderful learning opportunities with these texts – both for maths and also more holistically promoting the power of inclusion, teamwork, resilience and celebrating our differences.In my opinion these books are a must have in any School.

This is such a super story to follow The Perfect Fit! It is full of more shape characters with all their humour and zest for life. It tells the really important message of not giving up but to keep trying. Add to this the beautiful illustrations as well and there is so much to talk about with all the different shapes and colours. Well recommended!

We loved their first book - The Perfect Fit and this is a great follow up. It’s a great book for toddlers as it covers shapes, colours, counting and has a great sentiment behind it about not giving up. I love that triangle features too from The Perfect Fit as per the picture. Already a firm favourite with my toddler at bedtime.

Our 3 (going on 4) year old daughter LOVED this just as much as she loved the equally excellent 'The Perfect Fit'. We read it three times back to back the moment it arrived. Funny, witty and great to look at, it's a clever and very enjoyable shape adventure all about the importance of not giving up. Highly recommended.

My children (and I) absolutely love this follow-up to The Perfect Fit! A funny, positive story about resilience and not giving up. Such an important theme for our children today. Circle does some great problem solving and comes up with a fantastic plan to build a tower. Shapes, humour and fun!