Concepts – Colors

Swatch by Julia Denos

 

SWATCH: THE GIRL WHO LOVED COLOR
Written and illustrated by Julia Denos
(Balzer + Bray; 17.99, Ages 4-8)

 

Swatch The Girl Who Loved Color cover image

 

Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color opens with these compelling lines: “In a place where colors ran wild, there lived a girl who was wilder still. Her name was Swatch, and she was a color tamer. She was small, but she was not afraid.” The story delightfully weaves Julia Denos’s text with her vivid images. Ideal for children ages 4–8, Swatch is the first picture book in which Denos is both writer and illustrator, a task she accomplishes exceedingly well.

As we read on, we get to know this wild girl, Swatch, who dances with colors and does magic. She even learns that, with a little patience, she can hunt down the rare shades. Better still, the colors begin to come to her when called by name. Swatch establishes a reciprocal relationship with them. Until she decides to capture one. And bottle it up in her room.

This leads Swatch on a color-collecting spree. Her room soon overflows with trapped, restless hues.

 

Swatch The Girl Who Loved Color interior image
Interior artwork from Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color written and illustrated Julia Denos, Balzer + Bray ©2016.

 

On Swatch’s search for the last, elusive color—Yellowest Yellow—this color talks to her and asks Swatch what she’s doing. When the girl asks if it would like to climb in her jar, Yellowest Yellow politely refuses. She then acquiesces and watches as Yellowest Yellow unleashes its wild side, reminding our main character that colors should not be tamed. As the girl waits to be eaten, Yellowest Yellow surprises her by exhibiting other attributes of its personality. Together, the girl and the color soar.

While riding this explosion of Yellowest Yellow, Swatch realizes she must release the colors pent up in her room. The results are a masterpiece. Enjoy the beautifully bright illustrations and discover that, perhaps, wild things are better left untamed—whether these wild things are colors, little girls, or other forces of nature.

 

  • Reviewed by guest blogger, Christine Van Zandt

Writer, editor, and owner of Write for Success www.Write-for-Success.com

@WFSediting, Christine@Write-for-Success.com

Co-editor of and writer for SCBWI’s Kite Tales https://SCBWIKiteTales.wordpress.com/

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Best Board Books For Ages 1-5

THIS YEAR’S BEST BOARD BOOKS 
FOR AGES 1-5

Making a List and Checking it Twice
courtesy of bookseller and reviewer Hilary Taber – 

GRWRCoveted Bookseller Award
Looking for a great book for a young child in your life? Still have that hard to buy for niece, nephew or grandchild on your list? No worries! As a children’s bookseller I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see a lot of children’s books all year long. So, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite board books from the 2015 publishing year to help you with your last minute shopping.

For Ages 1-5

StarWarsEpicYarnsEmpireStar Wars Epic Yarns: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi by Jack  & Holman Wang
(Chronicle Books; $9.95, Ages 1-4)

With the new Star Wars movie coming out soon what better way to indoctrinate or err…teach a new generation. Each soft, needle felted scene is a recreation appropriate for learning first words. Princess Leia teaches the word “princess,” Luke Skywalker is our example of the word “learn,” and so on. Each scene is so lovingly recreated that every page is of the utmost quality.

WhenIGrowUpcvrWhen I Grow Up by Tad Carpenter
(Sterling Children’s Books; $7.95, Ages 1-3)

This gem of a board book takes toddlers through several occupations from firefighter to teacher that they might aspire to in the future in a lift-the-flap format. By listening closely to the text, your little one may be able to guess the job of the person behind the flap. These are all people in your community as well, so it’s a nice roundup of all the people who help us!

Color Dogcolor-dog-cvr.jpg by Matthew Van Fleet with photographs by Brian Stanton
(Paula Wiseman Books; $19.99, Ages 1 and up)

This is an adorable book! Perfect for a one-year-old or early two this lift-the-flap, tactile book uses pictures of pups to teach colors. Pull out tabs through out the book make the dogs move (even the dog on the cover pulls on the shoe string in his mouth if you pull the red tab). Rhyming text, and a chunky, durable cover make this a great gift.

SharkvsTrainShark vs Train by Chris Barton with illustrations by Tom Lichtenheld
(Little Brown Books for Young Readers; $6.99, Ages 2-5)

The ultimate battle! Two boys meet. One has a shark toy and the other has a toy train. A hilarious imaginative battle ensues Of course if the battle is underwater then Shark is going to win, but if it’s on land then Train is going to have the upper hand! What about a visit to a library? Right, neither of them would win that one! Witty, funny, and it combines sharks and trains in one book. That’s a sure winner right there.

Red Light, Green Light by Yumi HeoRedLightGreenLightcvr
(Cartwheel Books/Scholastic; $6.99, Ages 3-5 )

Yumi Heo writes and illustrates such wonderful books! Red Light, Green Light is no exception. This board book has been one of my favorites to recommend this year because it’s both interesting and straightforward. Lift-the-flap elements combine with rhyming text about all the signs that youngsters can see on the road in the car while being driven around town. This book is perfect for the little transportation enthusiast in your life, and great for both girls and boys.

  • Reviewed by Hilary Taber

 

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The Tiny Traveler Board Book Series by Misti Kenison

The Tiny Traveler: France, A Book of Colors &
The Tiny Traveler: Egypt, A Book of Shapes
Written and illustrated by Misti Kenison
(Sky Pony Press; $5.95, Ages 0-2)

I love to travel, in fact my whole family does, and I can’t think of a better bug to catch than the travel bug. So, when I read about Misti Kenison’s new board book series introducing shapes and colors through foreign destinations, I had to check them out. What a clever way to get the littlest members of your family thinking about faraway lands and all the delights in store when venturing abroad.

The Tiny Traveler: France, A Book of Colors france-cover includes the Moulin Rouge and a dancer in a red dress, a purple rose window of a cathedral, three slices of cheese inside a baguette, a white Arc de Triomphe, a black beret, an orange sunset outside the Louvre, a finely manicured green garden that could be the Tuileries, a brown gargoyle decorating Notre Dame, and last but not least, the Eiffel Tower. It’s gray during the day but turns a sparkling blue at night. As you can see from the cover, the illustrations are colorful yet unembellished. Youngsters are given clues with each page color to help them recognize the word which is always in upper case. The best part, you don’t even need to know the famous landmarks to be able to give your child a taste of France and the colorful scenery on offer.

The Tiny Traveler: Egypt, A Book of Shapesegypt-cover  puts the famed Great Sphinx right into your toddler’s hands, but before that there are the pyramids. “The front of the pyramid is a TRIANGLE.” There’s an Egyptian mummy’s rectangular beard, a square on the camel’s rug which covers his hump, and of course, “The sphinx’s head is a HEXAGON.” Kenison’s found a jar to use for an oval shape, hieroglyphics indicating a cross (this example is a bit challenging), a star in a geometrically-patterned window, and a heart shape on the back of a beetle (scarab). Finishing up their shape tour of Egypt, children will see a spread with the sun, followed by the last spread of a crescent moon, both high above ancient minarets in magical looking day and nighttime settings. There is a bold geometric example of the shape on the text page opposite each monument or item described and it’s also outlined in the scene so finding it is easy.

The Tiny Traveler board books are a fun and different way to educate your toddlers about the basic concepts of colors and shapes all from the comforts of your favorite rocking chair. I have no doubt after sharing these books, parents will find their children looking for shapes and colors in all they encounter.

– Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

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Shivery Shades of Halloween by Mary McKenna Siddals

Mary McKenna Siddals‘ Shivery Shades of Halloween: A Spooky Book of Colors (Random House Books for Young Readers, $12.99, Ages 3-7) with illustrations by Jimmy Pickering is such a great idea for a picture book!

shivery-shades-of-halloween

 

REVIEW:

I liked Shivery Shades of Halloween: A Spooky Book of Colors so much that I want to read more books like it, a series perhaps: The Tasty Tones of Thanksgiving or maybe the The Crimson Colors of Christmas! Okay, so those titles need some work, but after you read this clever new picture book and hear the hardy laughter of your kids, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s very, very catchy and it couldn’t hurt to have others in the queue for our favorite holidays.

Best of all, it may be called “A Spooky Book of Colors,” but Shivery Shades of Halloween isn’t scary in the least! In fact it’s funny, clever and educational. Siddals’ picture book will get your children thinking not only about all the different colors presented (green, purple, white, gray, blue, yellow, brown, black, red and of course, orange), but all the different words used to describe those colors in excellent internal rhyme …

HALLOWEEN IS WHITE
… Stony-bony, pearly-swirly, mostly ghostly
Wisp of white.

… in addition to the synonyms used for the word “color” – had to look that one up and it’s not easy, but Siddals pulls it off perfectly. There’s tinge of green, stain of red, glint of yellow … pigment anyone?

Pickering has designed an adorable (well, the sharp teeth aren’t SO adorable) bat-like creature (see lower right hand corner of cover above) who is colored all the shivery shades of Halloween and changes hues to match each scene it’s in. The youngest readers are bound to get a kick out of seeing when and where it turns up. The entertaining artwork features a bandaged-up red devil, a yellow cheese ball moon and a caped black cat. Pickering’s imaginative illustrations reminded me of Phineas And Ferb, one of my cartoon faves, meaning they’re never creepy and actually quite inviting.

Frankly, good Halloween picture books are hard to find. It’s why we see older titles turning up on lists and book shop displays again and again. So when a cute, creative new one like Shivery Shades of Halloween comes along, it’s worth noting. No newcomer to children’s books, Siddals gift of rhythm and rhyme is evident on every page promising to make Shivery Shades of Halloween a read-aloud request this holiday.

– Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

GUEST POST: 
Mary McKenna Siddals – children’s author

GRWR: How did you come up with the idea for the book?

MMS: The idea for SHIVERY SHADES OF HALLOWEEN began with asking myself the question that opens the book: What color is Halloween? While musing about how black and orange predominate as the colors typically associated with this holiday, it occurred to me that Halloween is not only brimming with other colors, but that every color actually takes on its own distinctive spooky tone.

I began brainstorming the images that came to mind for each color, playing with the adjectives that might be used to describe them… and before I knew it, a manuscript was beginning to take shape. Of course, there was lots more tinkering involved… establishing a framework with rhythm and rhyme… giving the text a direction that implied a journey through the spectrum of the night… and plenty of wordplay to make it all work… but in the end… BOOyah! What emerged was the spirited text for SHIVERY SHADES OF HALLOWEEN: A Spooky Book of Colors.

Find Shivery Shades of Halloween on Facebook here.

Follow Jimmy Pickering on Facebook here.

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Have You Seen My Dragon? by Steve Light

HAVE YOU SEEN MY DRAGON?, (Candlewick Press, $16.99, Ages 2-5) written and illustrated by Steve Light, is reviewed by Ronna Mandel.

⭐︎School Library Journal – Starred review

0763666483

 

East Side, West Side, all around the town …

Steve Light’s charming and clever counting book, Have You Seen My Dragon?, takes us all over Manhattan soaking up the sights and counting various things found there. Light’s latest book was a recommended read by book buyer and author Catherine Linka and now I’m sharing her tip with you.

And speaking of tips, Light’s book includes numerous modes of transportation kids want to see in a busy city: taxis, subway cars, bikes, boats and buses, all for the counting – there are 16 subway cars and 17 taxis in case you were wondering! Whatever item is being counted is highlighted by being the only color on an otherwise detailed black and white page. What a marvelous way to grab kids’ attention and pull them back in again and again to search and savor every lovingly drawn line.

I’m a former New Yorker so I especially appreciated this free ride to my hometown. As readers we wind our way all around the Big Apple with a little lad who is searching for his pet dragon. The beauty of this picture book is how Light has created a captivating counting story using inviting pen-and-ink illustrations that yield beautiful surprises as young readers seek and find the cheeky dragon. All the while your child may be looking out for the hidden-in-plain sight dragon, you’ll be noticing humorous little gems that Light’s illustrated to keep you on your toes.  Take the monkey, for example, just under the dragon fountain. He’s reaching for the zookeeper’s keys!

From Central Park to China Town, with patches of pinks and reds and purples scattered throughout the pages, there is simply so much to see and enjoy in Have You Seen My Dragon?  I have no doubt you’ll agree that this picture book has everything youngsters want in a picture book and then some. Enjoy your trip!

Click here for activities, author notes and more.

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