Sky Color

June 18, 2012
Reynolds provides another glimpse into artistic inspiration and self-expression in this small-format companion to The Dot and Ish. An “artist through and through,” Marisol has “her very own art gallery” on her fridge and happily shares her artwork with others. After offering to paint the sky in the mural her class is creating, she is dismayed to discover that the paint box contains no blue paint. Marisol ponders the problem as brilliant oranges, yellows, and pinks fill the sky at sunset, and she later dreams of drifting “though a sky swirling with colors.” Marisol’s classmates gaze in awe at the similarly radiant sky she paints on the mural in a final wordless spread. Reynolds’s characteristically wispy and loose mixed-media art makes judicious use of color in a way that accentuates Marisol’s creativity (Marisol’s artwork and the classroom paints are the only splashes of color in the book’s otherwise muted palette until the sky at sunset ignites Marisol’s imagination). Once again, Reynolds’s message is to think outside the box, and Marisol’s efforts should encourage readers to do just that. Ages 5–up. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

October 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 2-Marisol is an enthusiastic artist who doesn't hesitate to share her creations "with the world"-on the refrigerator, through the mail, even on posters. So when the class prepares to paint a mural for the library, she is right there shouting, "I'll paint the sky!" But she is flummoxed when she can't find blue paint. "How am I going to make the sky without blue paint?" The problem gnaws at her until she watches a sunset. That night she dreams she is flying "through a sky swirling with colors," and next day, she mixes paints into "an all-together new [sky] color." Reynolds's familiar fluid drawings, executed in watercolor, ink, and tea, reveal a young girl filled with personality, squiggly hair flying, clothes adorned with contrasting patterns. The burst of color on the front endpaper is the only hint of the delight in store since the artwork to follow is almost devoid of color except for Marisol's creations. Only when readers get to the final spread that reveals the mural with Marisol's dazzling sky as backdrop for the multicolored fish leaping from the water below are they treated to a surprising display of the girl's creativity. This story, along with Reynolds's The Dot (2003) and Ish (2004, both Candlewick), carries the important message that there is an artist inside everyone and that sometimes finding that creative spark means doing the unexpected. In these days of filling in circles on tests, it's an important message to share with youngsters.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2012
Reynolds returns to a favorite topic--creative self-expression--with characteristic skill in a companion title to The Dot (2003) and Ish (2004). Marisol is "an artist through and through. So when her teacher told her class they were going to paint a mural..., Marisol couldn't wait to begin." As each classmate claims a part of the picture to paint, Marisol declares she will "paint the sky." But she soon discovers there is no blue paint and wonders what she will do without the vital color. Up to this point, the author uses color sparingly--to accent a poster or painting of Marisol's or to highlight the paint jars on a desk. During her bus ride home, Marisol wonders what to do and stares out the window. The next spread reveals a vibrant departure from the gray tones of the previous pages. Reds, oranges, lemon yellows and golds streak across the sunset sky. Marisol notices the sky continuing to change in a rainbow of colors...except blue. After awakening from a colorful dream to a gray rainy day, Marisol smiles. With a fervent mixing of paints, she creates a beautiful swirling sky that she describes as "sky color." Fans of Reynolds will enjoy the succinct language enhanced by illustrations in pen, ink, watercolor, gouache and tea. Share this feel-good title with those who love art and those who can appreciate the confidence-building triumph of solving a problem on one's own--creatively. (Picture book. 4-6)

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Starred review from July 1, 2012
Preschool-G *Starred Review* Marisol, the young girl who saved and savored her older brother's drawing in Ish (2004), now has a gallery of her own artwork on the refrigerator at home and a reputation for creativity at school. She feels confident in volunteering to paint the sky for the school library mural. But waithow? There's no blue paint in the box of supplies. Marisol ponders the question as she rides the school bus home and watches day change to evening. In her dreams that night, the answer becomes clear. Back at school, she paints her own, original sky color, using swirling, watery tints of orange, yellow, green, purple, and gray to capture the actual hues shown in the skies above her. Reynolds' lively ink drawings, washed with watercolor, gouache, and tea, depict nearly everything in black and sepia tones except artworks, paints, and skies, which appear in blazing colors. Besides encouraging children to paint what they actually see, rather than repeating the visual conventions they've learned, this original offering frames an apparent problem as a challenge with a simple solution. Rounding out the series that began with The Dot (2003), this fresh, whimsical picture book encourages the artist and creative thinker in every child.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)