Yellow Is My Color Star

October 28, 2013
“Which color is the queen for you?/ Yellow, orange, red, or blue?/ Purple? Green? Or maybe pink?/ Which is the best? What do you think?” For Horacek’s shaggy-haired, androgynous narrator, there’s no contest: “Green is great./ And pink is fun./ But yellow is my number one.” Every page is a celebration of the colors mentioned; for “Green is great,” the kid hangs from a tree branch over a spread thick with blue-green foliage, while the pink page sees the child falling onto a pile of striped and polka-dot pink pillows. Soon, other kids get in on the action, too, parading around in gowns and driving toy cars that reflect their own personal favorites. As Horacek (Good Night, Sleep Tight) delights in vivid crayon-box hues in her watercolors, she doesn’t ignore skin color—her cast of beak-nosed children represents a diversity of ethnic backgrounds (though her Asian child edges uncomfortably close to stereotype). It’s an enthusiastic ode to color, one that’s likely to prompt debates about which color truly is the “best by far.” Ages 4–8.

November 1, 2013
A bright and breezy appreciation of yellow (and other colors too). "Yellow is my favorite color," declares a girl holding generous bunches of yellow balloons. Over the next few spreads, rhymes sneak in and rhythm builds. "I like red too, / and also blue." "Red" is enormous rose bouquets and a rose crown; "blue" shows the girl swimming in an ocean. Scansion varies, sometimes an infectious Seuss-ian patter ("Which color do you love the most? / Which color could you eat on toast?"), until rhyme vanishes again near the end. The most engaging of these cheerfully simple watercolor illustrations highlight just one color, such as when the girl, green-clad, swings through a landscape of green trees and grasses. Her jubilant, blocky profile and open-mouthed grin make her exuberance easy to share. Two middle spreads have little to offer (a dull field of flowers; some leaping frogs). When a multiethnic group of playmates joins the white protagonist, two unsettling details appear. While pink and brown people have eyes drawn in simple dots or dots surrounded by whites, one girl's eyes are a single line each--a reductive shortcut connoting "Asian" that makes those eyes look inappropriately closed. Another girl's skin is plain black watercolor; lacking any brown or warm undertones, she seems ghoulish alongside the others. Somewhat inconsistent, but when highlighting a single color, sunny as yellow. (Picture book. 2-5)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2014

PreS-K-This rhyming picture book about colors encourages children to choose their favorite. After a child explains how the colors pink, blue, green, purple, red, and orange make him feel, he reveals why he likes yellow best. During the first half of the book, children can search for a bird on each page. In the second half, youngsters wil enjoy naming all seven colors as they appear on frogs, butterflies, cars, and fish. The naive-style watercolor illustrations depict a diverse group of boys and girls. On two spreads, the color of the text matches the word it spells, helping to reinforce the connection between words and pictures. This cheerful story will teach toddlers and preschoolers about a key concept.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.