Colors Count (FAMILY magazine reviews)

Are you weary of winter? Surprise yourself and sit down with your favorite small person to try any of these unusual storybooks about color.

Whether colors make you feel strongly about something, or perhaps someone you know is synesthetic; can actually hear or taste colors as well as see them, like The Girl Who Heard Colors, from the list below. Try out several of these stories. See if they suit your taste.

Decide which colors you prefer. Enjoy the sight, smell, taste, touch or sound of these delightful tales. Share them with those you love. Warm up your winter with wonderful words.

My Blue is Happy by Jessica Young, illustrated by Catia Chien

            Not everyone shares the same point of view, debut picture book author Young observes in the flap copy. This lively book celebrates variety in how colors are experienced.

Sometimes using dialog to express feelings linked to color, the book reads like a peppy, non-rhyming poem. The eager girl in the story doesn’t argue out loud with family, neighbors, and friends who experience color in, perhaps, an expected fashion. Instead, she shares her “but” in active, non-argumentative, yet reflective language:

“The boy next door says red is angry

Like a dragon’s burning breath.

But my red is as brave as a fire truck

And my superhero cape.“

The surprising differences in feelings often associated with specific colors are accented by vigorous acrylic paintings. The lively union of words with pictures makes this charming story appealing to young listeners. Yet, older readers will also feel engaged.

Candlewick Press, $15.99 Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3

The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

            This imaginative story is a series of letters written to a boy, Duncan, by the crayons from his box. The individual crayons are feeling exhausted; red is overworked by the holidays. Purple, who is tidy, wants Duncan to color inside the lines. Beige is tired of being limited to coloring wheat.

Yellow and orange, which both think they are the color of the sun, are no longer speaking to each other. Only green is happy with his jobs – “crocodiles, trees, dinosaurs, and frogs.”

            Other colors have also written to Duncan: Gray, white, black, blue (the favorite), pink (hardly ever used) and peach. Each complaint is clearly expressed and cleverly written. Each note uses the appropriate crayon color, and features the highlighted problem.

            Playful crayon illustrations are paired with the notes. Each is carefully photographed, and placed on double-page spreads. The ending features the boy’s creativity in using all the colors in one bright picture he gives to his teacher.

Philomel, $17.99 Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2

           

One by Kathryn Otoshi

            Vibrant splashes of watercolor blobs on white paper spotlight a story about colors, that becomes a counting book, which turns into a bullying tale.  A quiet color, Blue is picked on by Red. “Red is hot. Blue is not.” Other colors comfort Blue, but not when Red is there. In fact, Red gets bigger, and scarier, and meaner every time no one speaks up to stop him.

            One comes. He’s brave. He’s funny.  He’s willing to stand up to Red and say, “No.” The other colors decide to change into number, like One. Yellow becomes two, Green is three, and so on. Blue wants to “count” too. Red feels left out.

            When Blue changes to Six, Red tries to tease him again. Instead, Blue says, “Red can be really HOT, but Blue can be super COOL.” The others take a stand too, making Red feel very small. However, they offer Red the chance to join in the counting game.

            That one person can make a difference, is deftly strengthened by the ending: “Sometimes it just takes One.” A seemingly simple story, with meaningful language, artfully revealed.

Ko Kids Books, $17.95 Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 1

More fantastic favorites to read together:

Little Green Peas: A Big Book of Colors by Keith Baker

Beach Lane, $17.99

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 3

The Girl Who Heard Colors by Marie Harris,

Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton

Penguin, $16.99

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten - Kindergarten

Black Cat White Cat by Silvia Borando

Candlewick Press, $14.00

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Kindergarten

Ike’s Incredible Ink by Brianne Farley

Candlewick Press, $16.99

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3

The Poet and His Song (Monday Poem)

by Paul Laurence Dunbar


A song is but a little thing
And yet what joy it is to sing.
In hours of toil it gives me zest,
And when at eve I long for rest;
When cows come home along the bars,
And in the fold I hear the bell,
As Night, the shepherd, herds his stars,
I sing my song and all is well.

There are no ears to hear my lays,
No lips to lift a word of praise;
But still with faith unfaltering,
I live and laugh and love and sing.
What matters yon unheeding throng?
They cannot feel my spirit's spell,
Since life is sweet and love is long,
I sing my song and all is well.

My days are never days of ease,
It till my ground and prune my trees.
When ripened gold is all the plain,
I put my sickle to the grain.
I labor hard and toil and sweat,
While others dream within the dell;
But even while my brow is wet,
I sing my song and all is well.

Sometimes the sun, unkindly hot,
My garden makes a desert spot.
Sometimes a blight upon the tree
Takes all my fruit away from me;
And then with throes of bitter pain
Rebellious passions rise and swell;
But--life is more than fruit or grain,
And so I sing, and all is well.


from Jump Back, Paul: The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Sally Derby, 2015, Candlewick Press
 

Sympathy (Monday Poem)

by Paul Laurence Dunbar


I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass:
When the first bird sings and the first bud pes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting--
I know why he beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me.
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings--
I know why the caged bird sings!



from Jump Back, Paul: The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Sally Derby, 2015, Candlewick Press

Disappointed (Monday Poem)

by Paul Laurence Dunbar


An old man planted and dug and tended,
Toiling in joy from dew to dew:
The Sun was kind and the rain befriended:
Fine grew his orchard and fair to view.
Then he said: "I will quiet my thrifty fears,
For here is fruit for my failing years."

But even then the storm-clouds gathered,
Swallowing up the azure sky;
The sweeping winds into white foam lathered
The placid breast of the bay, hard by;
Then the spirits that raged in the darkened air
Swept o'er his orchard and left it bare.

The old man stood in the rain, uncaring,
Viewing the place the storm had swept;
And then with a cry from his soul dispairing,
He bowed him down to the earth, and wept.
But a voice cried aloud from the driving rain:
Arise, old man, and plant again!"



from Jump Back, Paul: The Life and Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Sally Derby, 2015, Candlewick Press

The Sun Never Says (Monday Poem)

by Hafiz

Even after all this time,
the sun never says to the earth,
"You owe me."
Look what happens with a love like that.
It lights the whole sky.

Books for Festive Holiday Celebrations (FAMILY magazine reviews)

Making memories can be one treasured part of holiday preparations and celebrations. One important piece of holiday memory making is remembering what is best from previous holidays. Choose some favorite stories from the past and match them with some new stories -- like the books featured on this page -- to share with young ones most dear to you this season. Merry, merry!!

           

Miracle on 133^rd Street by Sonia Manzano 

Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

            It’s Christmas Eve and the roast is too big for the oven in Jose’s family apartment. Everything is too small; the Christmas tree, the oven, the apartment, Mama complains. She’s homesick for Puerto Rico. To make her laugh, Jose says, “We need a pizza oven!”

            Jose’s Papí thinks it’s “Not a bad idea!” So they box the roast and carry it downstairs, through the neighborhood and across the bridge to the Pizzeria. On the way, they meet up with neighbors in the building and on the street who are all having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. Kids are fighting, grownups are sad (missing family), scared (of muggers), or worried about money.

            Ray from Regular Ray’s Pizzeria, is lonely because his customer’s only come for take-out. He let’s them use his oven for the roast. Then, when it’s ready, he accepts Papí’s invitation to join the family to share the roast to celebrate Christmas. On the way back, they meet the same people, who decide to accept Papí’s invitation. Everyone follows the “miraculous aroma” to Jose’s small apartment.

            The colorful gouache and ink illustrations are busy with energy and crowded with action. Both names and skin tones, suggest a variety of cultures. The expressive faces and body language in the artwork partner with lyrical text and well-placed dialog to create generous movement in the story.           

“It’s a miracle,” says Mama, greeting the two Jose’s at the door. It smells like Puerto Rico, home. Even more amazing --“this apartment is big enough to hold all our friends.” This is a warm and ultimately happy holiday storybook.

           

Atheneum Books, $17.99

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 4

The Best Parts of Christmas by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

            Fritz chooses the best tree for his family’s Christmas. He “knows the ornaments want to be close” not spread out, as his mama suggests. This leads him to discover that “almost anything can be an ornament!” So, the tree has a soccer ball, pawprint paintings from the dog, a teddy bear, and of course candy canes and gingerbread cookies all hung on its branches.

Pen and ink and watercolor feature the tree as the center of each double page spread, until the final page. Plenty of white space accents the tree with all its decorations and presents. Fritz knows that what happens around the tree - ornaments, presents, wishes, reading, naps – are the best parts of Christmas.

But, the tree loses its needles and is almost bare. And, although Fritz is NOT ready for Christmas to be over, Mama puts away the decorations and Papa takes the tree out.

The final page, set in Fritz’s bedroom, includes what he realizes. With a stick in a vase on a bedside table, “almost anything can be an ornament.” This delightful, cheery story offers a creative conclusion to a dilemma faced by many families with young children - how to end the holiday season without tears.

Candlewick Press, $14.99

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 1

Baking Day at Grandma’s by Anika Denise 

Illustrated by Christopher Denise

            This rollicking, rhyming picture book is perfect preparation for holiday baking. Three little bears tramp through the snow to grandma’s house. Together, they create a perfect cold weather treat.

The team of Anika and Christopher Denise has created a playful, merry story. Lively language matches the glowing illustrations, created using Adobe Photoshop. Sensory text and dancing pictures remind readers that one of the joys of the season is time to spend with those we love.  

Philomel Books, $16.99

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 1

 
 

More wonderful holiday book choices:

Certain Poor Shepherds: A Christmas Tale by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Illustrated by Jonathan Bartlett

Candlewick Press, $15.99

Interest Level: Grades 3-6

  

The Smallest Gift of Christmas by Peter Reynolds

Candlewick Press, $10

Interest Level: Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 2

  

Brother Giovanni’s Little Reward: How the Pretzel Was Born

by Anna Egan Smucker

Illustrated by Amanda Hall

Eerdmans Books, $17

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3

WILD GEESE (Monday Poem)

by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

from Wild Geese: Selected Poems  by Mary Oliver, 2004, Bloodaxe