Yellow, Pink, Red, Green, Blue - popup board books by Aurore Petit

A rubber duckie . . . a raincoat . . . a ray of light! Infants and young readers will delight as these objects jump off the page in this unique “first colors” 

and “first words” pop-up board book.

There's a new little baby boy who has arrived to bring great happiness into the lives of the family of a friend of mine.  Yesterday I caught up with the new little man - he is now ten weeks old. I have of course given his and his mum and dad a selection of books and I was utterly thrilled to hear they are reading to him every day!!! I couldn't resist this pop-up book when I saw it in a city bookstore. The yellow raincoat page delighted the grandmother of this baby and she immediately burst into the raincoat jingle "wear a yellow raincoat when you're out in the wet" from her own childhood. 

Gecko Press bio: Aurore Petit was born in 1981 in France and currently lives in Nantes. She graduated from L’école des Arts Decoratifs in Strasbourg in 2006. She works with children’s books and illustrates for magazines and media, and has worked on books and stage design. She won the Millepages Prize in 2019 for A Mother Is a House. You can see some of her French titles here. 

Infants and young readers will delight as these objects jump off the page in this unique “first colors” and “first words” pop-up board book. These sturdy, small board books are absolutely perfect for little hands, but the clever and surprising images will appeal to all ages. Each spread is printed in black-and-white, but the six playful pop-up objects are filled in with a bold pop of color—a novel take on high-contrast books! Thames and Hudson

See Yellow and Pink in action on Instagram. I do hope we see all of this series in English Yellow and Pink arrived here in March, 2024. Pink - What is pink? A cat’s tongue . . . a sunrise . . . a lollipop!  

I see Red and Green are due here in Australia in September and they are a great price at less than AUS$15 thank goodness. [I saw a different and very appealing board book this morning on social media for over AUS$37]. Here are the French titles:

• Jaune POP
• Vert POP
• Rouge POP
• Rose POP
• Blanc POP
• Bleu POP
• Orange POP
• Noir POP

Big Book of Colorful Foods by Olga Konstantynovska

The Adventures of Snail Ellie in the World of Fruits and Vegetables" is the creative debut of Olga Konstantinovska: she is the author and illustrator of this edition. The Big Book of Colorful Foods will introduce children to the abundant gifts of nature in a light and captivating way, including those they have already seen and those they are yet to try! The curious snail will be their guide into this wonderful world. A little snail named Ellie loves apples - juicy, red, and oh so delicious. One day, she went for a walk in the garden and discovered the amazing world of colorful vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and berries. Follow Ellie through the pages of this vibrant book, learn about different types of food and their names, and have fun with a playful maze at the end. Welcome to the world of color and imagination! Behance

Of course, there are fruits and vegetables in this book you will recognise or might expect, but for a young child there are some that are sure to be new:

pomegranate; orange cherry tomato; starfruit; cacao fruit; feijoa; purple basil; purple eggplant; lychee; guava; fennel and pattypan.  The black page surprised me with black potato; elderberry and vanilla.

I found this book in a library. They record where they purchase each book. This one came from a Sydney store - The Constant Reader. I haven't been able to locate a web page for the publisher Clever Publishing but I did read this about them:

Clever Publishing was founded in 2010 with the purpose of changing children's lives for the better. We create a world full of fascinating experiences for families through our books, games, sets, and series. Focusing on Pre-school and Edutainment, we've developed a wide range of innovative formats with modern teaching techniques. Kids love to read, touch, and play while learning, so our program includes products for all ages, including box sets; board books; puzzle books; learning flash cards; interactive colouring, activity, and word play formats; and boards games for the entire family.

See inside the Big Book of Animals. Here are the other books from this series which I think would be a terrific addition to a preschool or Kindergarten classroom:

Considering the size of these books and the beautiful book design, these books are not expensive. I found all the titles are still available here. 

Open this little book by Jesse Klausmeier illustrated by Suzy Lee

You really can't judge a book by its cover! ... A delightful and timely 

homage to reading and, more, to books themselves. 

Kirkus star review

Why oh why have they let this book go out of print? Open this little book and inside you find a little red book about ladybirds, then there is a little green book about a frog. The little orange book is about a rabbit and the little yellow book has a honey comb cover - wait a minute does each cover give you a clue about the contents?  YES. So this is a book about colours, and books and reading and the fun of discovery inside a book. 

See inside this book here at Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast. Here is a ten minute audio interview with the author.

Here are some ideas for using this book. The author Jessie Klausmeier calls this book a "Russian nesting doll". Here is the book trailer.

The artwork in Open the Little Book is particularly vibrant, which makes perfect sense considering much of the storyline is based on colours. Interestingly, we are used to more subtly coloured drawings from Suzy Lee and the artwork she has created here is a distinct departure from her usual style. But it is a joy to pore over these vivid drawings, there is such intricate detail, each reading becomes a new experience. Library Mice

I thought I had talked about this book previously but I just put it into a post about Suzy Lee. Read more about Suzy and her work on Open this little book here.  

Look carefully at the characters. What is that white rabbit carrying? Well, of course, it is a pocket watch. Is the rabbit carrying the watch when he heads home afterwards? You know, he isn’t. Such a small detail, and yet through it and a myriad of other seemingly minor details, the book takes on another powerful layer of meaning.

The 2024 Children's Book Council of Australia slogan for Book Week is Reading is Magic. Open this little book would be a perfect book to use as you begin to discuss this idea.

Open this little book was the 2014 winner of Please Touch Museum book award: Established in 1985, the Please Touch Museum’s Book Awards have been unique in highlighting some of the best examples of storytelling for young children that help foster a life-long love of reading. All book selections are distinguished in text, illustration and ability to explore and clarify an idea or concept for young children 7 and under.

Other awards

• 2013 Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor for Excellence in Children's Literature
• 2014 Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
• 2013 Huffington Post Best Picture Book of the Year

The best book to pair with Open this little book is one of my all-time favourites:

1 is for One

Before Colors: Where pigments and dyes come from by Annette Bay Pimentel illustrated by Madison Safer

Our eyes see colours (Australian spelling) but many of the colours used in art took a long time to develop and some discoveries were entirely accidental.

Here is a tiny sample of facts from this book:

• 2,500 years ago in India the roots of the tumeric plant were ground to make yellow dye.
• Vincent Van Gough loved to use many shades of yellow
• Cochineal red comes from the cochineal insect. Today this is used in food dye US Code E120.

Check out the webpages for the illustrator Madison Safer and the author Annette Bay Pimentel. See inside Before Colors here. 

Along with precisely drawn botanical and mineralogical vignettes, Safer underscores the author’s global perspective with frequent full-page scenes of artists and dyers, mostly women and often with children in attendance, linked by dress or surroundings to a broad range of times and cultures. Lyrical notes add wonder to a bright mix of creative arts and scientific fact. Kirkus

I highly recommend adding this book to your library - especially to a High School library where the art department are sure to really make good use of this book with different groups of students. This book is presented in a very large format so I am pleased to see the publisher list it for only AUS$35. Your High School Library will also want to purchase this second volume:

Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

 

Exquisitely crafted: a simple, gracefully honed text, an appealing story, real but unobtrusive values and levels of meaning, and outstanding illustrations and design—all add up to a perfect book. Kirkus

Let's look at the title - Seven Blind Mice.  Seven is the perfect number to use giving the structure the days of the week which is a known pattern and will be enjoyed by very young children. Blind - the mice rely on touch which means the story has the extra delightful dimension that young readers will know more than the story characters. Mice - mice are small and the object of their interest is huge. Given their size it is understandable that they cannot get a full perspective and are only able to feel tiny parts of the whole.

Notice that the clever mouse, though, is the young girl. She is the only one who thinks to explore the whole beast not just a tiny part. This thing is not a pillar, snake, spear, rope, fan, or cliff.

The art in this book is also very appealing with the use of collage and full black pages. I talked in depth about Ed Young in a previous post. I am happy to see this book from 1991 is still available and in paperback.

Seven Blind Mice (1992), Young’s self-illustrated reinterpretation of an Indian fable, won the 1992 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award in the picture-book category and was selected as a 1993 Caldecott Honor Book by the American Library Association.

The mice might remind you of the ones created by Leo Lionni. Besty Bird mentions this in her podcast Fuse8n'Kate. 

This book is an innovative reworking of "The Blind Men and the Elephant" - an Indian folktale (see below).

Many years ago, a Kindergarten teacher asked me for some picture books that used days of the week as a story format. I did find some but not this one - which is just perfect. I have now added Seven Blind Mice to my Pinterest.

Here are some other books to link with Seven Blind Mice:

Mina

I Feel a Foot

Little Nelly's Big Book

Yours Sincerely, Giraffe

Here is the original poem:

here were six men of Hindustan,

to learning much inclined,

Who went to see an elephant,

though all of them were blind,

That each by observation

might satisfy his mind.

The first approached the elephant,

and happening to fall

Against his broad and sturdy side,

at once began to bawl,

"This mystery of an elephant

is very like a wall."

The second, feeling of the tusk,

cried, "Ho, what have we here,

So very round and smooth and sharp?

To me 'tis mighty clear,

This wonder of an elephant

is very like a spear."

The third approached the elephant,

and happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

thus boldly up and spake,

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

is very like a snake."

The fourth reached out an eager hand,

and felt above the knee,

"What this most wondrous beast

is like is very plain" said he,

"'Tis clear enough the elephant

is very like a tree."

The fifth who chanced to touch the ear

said, "E'en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most;

deny the fact who can;

This marvel of an elephant

is very like a fan."

The sixth no sooner had begun

about the beast to grope,

Than seizing on the swinging tail

that fell within his scope;

"I see," said he, "the elephant

is very like a rope."

So six blind men of Hindustan

disputed loud and long,

Each in his own opinion

exceeding stiff and strong;

Though each was partly in the right,

they all were in the wrong!

I can see Nature's Rainbow by Vicky Woodgate

 

"Some creatures use colour to camouflage themselves, others to send a warning or to attract a mate. While plants can't talk, their colours are often designed to say 'Eat me!' to animals. From red monkeys and white whales to green sloths and purple snails, discover the amazing rainbow world we are so lucky to live in."

This book is from the UK, but it does contain animals from around the world including our Australian Quokka and Kangaroo. I think this book would be a popular one in your school or preschool library - I imagine it might have been offered on Scholastic Book Club in 2023 as they are the publisher. 

A few discoveries from this book:

Blue - Blue Tang (fish) change colour depending on their mood; No land mammals are completely blue but some have blue faces such as the Golden Snub-nosed monkey; Blue Whales eat up to 40 million kril each day.

Green - The (green) Northern Birdwing butterfly can measure more than 22cm; a green toadstool is the Parrot Waxcap; algae grow on the fur of the sloth turning it green.

Brown - The ring-tailed cat is a cousin of the racoon; Brown bears can outrun a horse.

Red - Red foxes have whiskers on their legs and retractable claws; a very poisonous plant is the Bleeding Heart.

Purple - I had not heard of the Purple Frog, Purple Lubber Grasshopper, Purple Martin (bird) or the Lilac-Breasted Roller (bird).

Image source: Project Noah

Pink - I'd love to see a pink-spotted Lady Beetle. 

Orange - The Zombie Frog is orange; and so is the Baboon Tarantula.

Yellow - this page includes a flower I always associate with a book - the Black-eyed Susan; the yellow in the eye of a lion helps it see better at night.

White - Mute Swan; Dwarf Hotot Rabbit; Snow Petrel; Giant Leopard Moth; Beluga Whale.

Grey - the collective noun for mushrooms is a troop; you need to know I am frightened of Geckos and now I discover one called a Grey Gargoyle Gecko.

Black - Polar bears have black skin; I like the name Chimney Sweeper Moth; the Dracula Orchid.

Chimney Sweeper Moth image source: Stewkley Wildlife Reserve

My favourite page in this book is near the end - it is filled with rocks and minerals of every colour. There is a full index and a page of projects at the back too.

Here is the web page for Vicky Woodgate.

Despite only having 32 pages, I Can See Nature’s Rainbow, is absolutely full to the brim with images and words explaining how diverse things are in the natural world. This will appeal to inquisitive children, in early years and KS1, who prefer information books. Just Imagine

The Color Collector by Nicholas Solis illustrated by Renia Metallinou

"We came here for a better life. I miss home, though. 

I miss the sounds and smells. And I miss the colors."

The world is black and white until one day a young boy notices Violet, a girl from his class. She is picking up bits and pieces from the footpath - brightly coloured things but things that are mostly rubbish. 

"What do you do with it all?" "All of what?" "The wrappers and trash and leaves."

Violet invites the boy to her home which is an apartment at the top of a New York brownstone. Violet opens the door to her room and the colour explode. She has made a most wonderful art work on every  wall of her room showing images of her home far away. This could be a sad book but it ends in hope as we can be sure that this young boy will be a wonderful friend to Violet and she will find a path to happiness in her new country.  

 

Now for the bad news. I want to say this book would be a great addition to your school library but here in Australia it costs more then AUS$35 so sadly very few library will feel able to include this gentle story into their collection. Some of my spelling friends may also have a little trouble with color and not colour but really I think that is unimportant. This book is not really about colour it is about friendship, acceptance of difference, sharing, immigration, home, and trust. 

Here is the author web page. And here is the website for Renia Metallinou from Greece. Please try to find this book to read before you read The Color Collector:

Anita and the dragons

Frank's Red Hat by Sean E Avery

Frank is a creative soul. He discovers the joy of knitting and he makes a splendid hat but the other conservative penguins are not sure this is a good idea. They like their safe predicable black and white world and then when their friend Neville is eaten by a killer whale they are convinced nothing good will come from wearing Frank's hats.

But Frank is not a penguin who accepts defeat.  He continues to make his hats embracing so many exotic colours. 

He tries to share his best hat with his old penguin friends but the run away terrified. Luckily for Frank someone else has been watching all of this. The seals love his hats and so Frank regains his confidence and his creativity. Frank has been given a very distinct and very appealing personality.

This book gave me a huge smile. I adore the illustrations which remind of the award-winning illustrator Jon Klassen who also uses similar textured effects.The use of analogue and digital illustrative techniques lends this book an air of sophistication. 

There are some deeper meanings here but I just love the lightness of touch given to the story, the perseverance of Frank, his creativity, and the hilarious twist at the end. This book will open up conversations about risk taking, difference and courage along with a terrific discussion about the names we give to colours. It also opens up opportunities to think about other perspectives such as the penguins and their resistance to change. 

The end papers are perfect. I love the way the illustrations delightfully extend the text such as when Frank uses the broken walrus tusk as fish spike. Those eyes on the walrus say so much. Then things go full circle when we see the walrus has his tusk tied on with pink wool and, like the seals, he too is wearing a special hat but wait a minute - look at the nose on the snowman - oh no!

The story pace is perfect too. Sean Avery shows us how to read a line like “it’s for keeping our head warm – in style” by the simple placement of that dash. In terms of the plot line, I enjoyed the moment of drama when Neville is eaten by a killer whale – the text makes this feel less tragic and more about the cycle of life and death on the ice.   

Frank’s Red Hat is one of those picture books that certainly can be shared with younger children but which will also generate deeper discussions and enjoyment for older students too. This story addresses so many themes: the other, fear, conformity, 'group think', diversity. 

Frank's Red Hat was short listed for our Children's Book Council Book of the Year awards - Picture Book. I was a judge this year and so some of my comments are based on the critique I wrote which you can see here. 

Here are some junior teaching ideas from the publisher Walker books. Here is the website for Sean E Avery - he lives in Western Australia. Here is a video where Sean shows his art process. 

I Spy with my little eye by Edward Gibbs

I spied (pardon the pun) this book at a charity book sale this week. The text is very familiar but I was struck by the wonderful illustrations which are similar in style to Catherine Rayner or even Brian Wildsmith. 

My two books were inspired by playing the game I Spy as a child, and then with my own three children on car journeys when they were growing up. The idea of eyes and holes came to me while in bed in the middle of the night. I got up and did a little sketch on a folded piece of paper, and tore a little hole . . . it worked! ... The idea with the first I Spy was to go from the biggest animal in the world (the blue whale) to the smallest (it was going to be a fly) but that was a bit scary so we settled on the frog — who could have swallowed the fly! Candlewick

My copy of I Spy with my little eye is a large format picture book (reprinted here in Australia by Koala Books) but this is a title that could easily translate into a board book. The farm title is available as a board book. There are lots of book (thousands in fact) that explore animals and colour concepts so I think it is important to hunt out the best ones with fabulous art. I do hope you can find some of these books in your local library. 

Edward Gibbs is a UK illustrator and he also designs greeting cards. I Spy with my little eye is one book in a series. It was first published in 2011.

Julia Donaldson and Sharon King-Chai

 

Recently I have seen a few requests on Facebook forums asking for books to gift a young child or books for a baby gift or books that could be keepsakes.  I think these three books are so perfect. Julia Donaldson is a master with language and Sharon King-Chai produces exquisite art.

These books have flaps and die cuts (holes) and richly coloured illustrations. You can buy hardcover or paperback editions. If you can buy all three books they would be a beautiful gift. 

Counting creatures is indeed a counting book but it also introduces a young child to the names we use for animal babies - all told in gentle rhyme with a repeated refrain - 'Who has more babies that that?' You can see inside this book here.

The wild dog has four pups; the owl has five owlets; the arctic hare has seven leverets; the turkey has fifteen poults; and the frog has twenty-five tadpoles.

Then there is the delicious language: the cubs are tottering, swaying, pouncing and playing; the pups are nosing and nestling, writhing and wrestling; and the baby mice are pattering, pawing, nibbling and gnawing.

Sharon King-Chai says: The paperback cover for a rich and beautiful counting book full of gorgeous baby animals, with shaped pages, flaps and fold-outs - the cover was designed to be more seasonally appropriate as it is publishing in the spring (the hardback was autumn) and to include a die-cut flap.

See inside Colours, Colours everywhere here. 

See inside Animalphabet here. I talked about Animalphabet back in 2019.

 

Grey Island Red Boat by Ian Beck

 

Princess Opal lives on an island where everything is grey. The sky, the land, the buildings and even the sea. One day a small boat appears and it is red. The boat carries a stranger who brings the magic of colour but the King does not like this magic and he orders the guards to throw this boy - Wendell Lightfoot - into the castle dungeon. Opal hatches a plan to set her new friend free but can this pair escape the King? And what do the people of the town think about all the colours they can now see in their world.  The rainbow on the cover might give you a hint of that all important happy ending. 

My only very tiny quibble with this charming love story comes at the end because Opal still appears to be grey - the magic touch of colour has not changed her - I wonder why?

This is a profound new fairy tale which reveals how hope and light can manifest in even dire circumstances and the possibilities of bringing them into your life permanently. Ian Beck's illustrations, partly realised in silhouette, are very beautiful. Book Trust

The book's also the right size and weight for small hands. It's not just a book either - under the front flap there's a picture to colour in and under the back flap there a 'spot the difference' puzzle ... The Book Bag

This is an original story but it reads like an elegant European fairytale. The beautifully written text, laden with references to precious stones, flows from one page to another, complimenting the gorgeous, retro illustrations. An Awfully Big Blog Adventure

I highly recommend these early chapter books called Little Gems published by Barrington Stoke. This one has eight very short chapters, 80 pages and is well set out with plenty of space between paragraphs. It is dyslexia friendly but really any young reader will enjoy this gem!

Every school should have Little Gems books they manage to bring together the very best children’s authors and illustrators to create the most amazing range of books. Book Lover Jo

The Bakery of Happiness

The Bad Trousers

Madam Squeaker

The First Third Wish