Who Might You Be? by Robert Henderson

Title: Who Might You Be?

Author: Robert Henderson

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 1^st July 2025

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $24.99

Synopsis: Inspired by the popular puzzle tangram, this playful exploration of shapes and identity is also a pleasing rollicking rhyme perfect to read aloud.

Today, I am this and tomorrow I’m that.
Today, I’m a tiger! Tomorrow, a bat.
By Saturday, I will have been all of that.
So … who might you be?

A lively story in which all the illustrations are tangrams; the well-known geometrical puzzle that is a square cut into seven pieces arranged to make various other shapes. It is also a delightful story about the imagination where the words and pictures combine to tell a deeper story about the idea of self, from the highly acclaimed creator of I See, I See.

An earlier version of this review appeared in Good Reading Magazine in January 2026

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A tangram is a popular puzzle, and it has inspired this tale by Robert Henderson. He explores the tangram – a geometrical puzzle. It is a square cut into seven pieces that can be arranged to make other shapes. How? Just use your imagination!

This is an exciting story about the tangram coming to life, and becoming a girl, a dog, all sorts of animals and everything in between, showing the intersection of creativity and geometry to help children learn how shapes can interact and become more than what they appear to be.

In this book, the tangram images and words work together to tell the story, and show readers what they can do with a tangram, and how the different characters created with the tangram react to the world around them. Making geometry easier to understand in a fun book like this can connect with a broad range of readers, from those just starting out, to those grappling with trying to understand geometry. The fun and simple way the concept is explained can make people have an aha moment, and just make learning more fun.

There are other themes too, about discovering yourself as the tangram changes shapes, trying to work out where it fits into the world. Which is just like all of us, whatever age we are. We are always trying to fit into the world, trying to find a place and work out who we are and where we fit in. It reflects an ongoing journey that we are all going through whilst also teaching children about a fun puzzle – and it has one in the back that you can trace to create your own tangram!

This was a surprise book from Allen and Unwin – and a bit of a departure from what I usually read, so at first, I wasn’t sure what I would find. It was one that came to life as I read it, creating that sense of enjoyment and wonder while it explored the world of the tangram and what it can do. This is what makes picture books so fun – the variety out there that shows there is something for everyone.