colors

2 Bright & Colorful New Nonfiction Picture Books

| Tasha

This Is Orange: A Field Trip Through Color by Rachel Poliquin, illustrated by Julie Morstad

Publisher: Candlewick

Publication Date: October 21, 2025

Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley

ISBN: 9781536230529

Starting with a regular orange, the book quickly moves to other sorts of fruit and citrus that are oranges, or are they? The history of orange and when it became a recognized color in the English language is explored. The book moves on to elements that are orange, how to make orange paint, and famous art pieces that embrace the color. Children get to explore monarchs, Buddhist monk robes, flags, marigolds and much more. 

This picture book takes the exploration of a single color to a new level. I loved looking at the language development around the color that coincided with the fruit. The various animals, foods, and uses of the color from bridges to astronaut suits is a delight. There is no speaking down to children here, but elevating them to a level of understanding for this unique color. The illustrations are simple and approachable, matching the approach of the book. They are also filled with a wide variety of oranges, of course.

Orange you glad for this picture book? Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Yellow Is a Banana by John Himmelman

Publisher: Abrams Appleseed

Publication Date: October 7, 2025

Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley

ISBN: 9781419776809

A little boy annoys his older sister by saying his sentences backwards. “This yellow is a banana!” She corrects him time and again as he points out red apples, purples grapes and a lime is green. He does it all with the great joy of a toddler discovering things, but his sister gets more and more frustrated and frazzled. Soon she too is accidentally saying things backwards. Finally, they agree that “This orange is orange” plus it’s delicious.

Told entirely in the dialogue between the two siblings, this picture book is the epitome of toddler joy at discovery. It also cleverly uses wordplay to show the importance of colors as well as creating a lot of giggles along the way. The illustrations are done with white backgrounds and simple lines that allow the specific colors to shine as the little boy presents them. 

A colorful read-aloud sure to get laughs alongside learning. Appropriate for ages 1-4.

Black and White by Debora Vogrig

| Tasha
Cover image for Black and White.

Black and White by Debora Vogrig, illustrated by Pia Valentinis (9780802855756)

On a page full of black with a few white-lit windows, White wakes up. White spreads light through the sky and enters the house. Black hides under the bed. The two push and pull, wrestling a bit, then they head off together. Together they make neat crosswalk lines and then octopus ink messy splatter that turns into a spotted Dalmatian dog. The friends head to the forest of birch trees, to the Poles to see polar bears and penguins. They reach the savannah and run with zebras and the jungle where panthers stalk. In the evening, Black is the one who stretches out and fills the space. White begs for one more game, one more song, one more story and finally the two dazzle the night sky together.

This book explores colors, opposites and a playful friendship between white and black, light and dark. The text invites readers into their friendship and play, showing how the two colors balance one another, create surprising designs together, and form shadows and lightness. The interplay between the two opposites is cleverly done, showing how friends don’t have to agree or be similar to have a strong friendship.

The art in this picture book is done entirely in black and white with no touches of other color. The use of shadows, shapes, light sources and more create a dynamic style on the page, inviting readers to look closely, guess at the animals before the text reveals them and enjoy immersion into this two-tone world.

A stirring look at black and white, colors and opposites that inspires. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy provided by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

Play with Your Plate! by Judith Rossell

| Tasha

Play with Your Plate! by Judith Rossell

Play with Your Plate! by Judith Rossell (9781419739071)

This clever board book opens to reveal four separate sections, all done in sturdy board pages. Little ones are encouraged to play with the sections, as each one has an engaging question on it. Can you make a plate of only circles or triangles? Can you make one of only one color? Can you find a plate with all your favorite foods? Start turning the pages and you will discover a multi-topped pizza, Japanese sushi and miso soup, tacos, sandwiches, mac and cheese, and various fruits and veggies.

This book asks children to play with it. Families will be able to come up with their own challenges for one another since the book has 4,000 combinations. Turn all the way to the end and all of the sections end with empty plates and a few crumbs.

Clever and fun, you won’t be able to stop playing with this one. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy provided by Abrams Appleseed.

Green on Green by Dianne White

| Tasha

Green on Green by Dianne White

Green on Green by Dianne White, illustrated by Felicita Sala (9781481462785)

Explore the changing colors of seasons through this poetic picture book. The colors slide together, dynamically playing in the seasons in ways that surprise and delight. Yellow on green is lemonade and bees buzzing. Spring is new bird song, rain and breeze, yellow on green. Summer comes in on turquoise water with beaches and swimming. It is also peaches, sun and shade, blue on green. Fall is cinnamon and squirrels, brown on green. Corn, pumpkins and candles too. Winter is white with snow and gray skies, white on green. Green as spring returns.

There are so many season books, many that I really enjoy. This one though is very special. It takes colors and shows young readers how they pair and shift and change over the course of the seasons. Green stays constant, always there under snow or next to blue waters. The poetry here invites readers to explore things more deeply, to look beyond the first color they think of for a season. It reads aloud beautifully, the measures actually reading aloud better than they do silently on the page. It turns into a dance like the colors themselves.

Sala’s illustrations are lush and colorful, showing a family of color who experience the seasons together. Children will also notice the mother’s stomach growing rounder as the months pass and then a baby appearing. Throughout there is a strong feeling of family and community.

A lovely new way to see colors and seasons. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Beach Lane Books.

Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy

| Tasha

Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy

Black Is a Rainbow Color by Angela Joy, illustrated by Ekua Holmes (9781626726314)

Inspired by a comment from her daughter, Joy celebrates being Black in this picture book that definitively places the color black in the rainbow of the world. In poetic verse, she looks at a myriad of lovely things in life that are black like her friend’s braids, bicycle tires, Thurman’s robes, ink on a page. The images come from children’s own lives but also are inspiring, speaking to figures in African-American history and culture. The color black and being Black mean so many different positive and powerful things, that black itself is a rainbow to celebrate.

Joy’s writing is powerful, singing on the page like a hymn. She writes simply but with great imagery and drawing in references to powerful African-Americans along the way. She also takes lines of songs and weaves them into her poem. At the end of the book, she writes of the inspiration for her book, the songs included in her poem, and the use of various ethnonyms to refer to the Black community over time. A bibliography of titles is also appended.

The art by Holmes is exceptional. Much of the art in the book pays homage to stained glass windows with thick black lines and strong colors. Other pages use a lighter line, more details and allow colors to swirl and dance. The entire work is one of graphic power and color.

An important book for all library collections. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Roaring Brook Press.

Review: The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh by Supriya Kelkar

| Tasha

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh by Supriya Kelkar

The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh by Supriya Kelkar, illustrated by Alea Marley (9781454931843)

Harpreet loves to express himself through the colors he wears, particularly the colors of his patka. Yellow was for when he felt sunny, pink for celebrating, red for courage, and blue for when he was nervous. When Harpreet moved across the country to a snowy city, he stopped wearing his colors. Instead, day after day, he wore white to match the cold outdoors and to be invisible. His parents tried to get him to wear different colors again, but he refused. Then one day, he discovered one of his classmate’s yellow hat in the snow and returned it to her. He loved the yellow and the smiley face on it. She loved his patka too. Steadily, Harpreet started to wear colors again, this time to celebrate a new friend.

Kelkar beautifully depicts the power of color in a little boy’s life while celebrating his Sikh religion at the same time. She takes the time to show what each color represents, along with the illustrations depicting what bravery, joy and nerves mean to him personally. The story is tightly written, focused on the nerves and loneliness of moving and finding your way. This focus makes the discovery of a new friend all the more powerful.

Marley’s illustrations show the range of colors that Harpreet has for his patka along with their matching outfits. Harpreet’s emotions, both joyous and sad, are clearly depicted in facial expressions and in body language. It is a huge relief when Harpreet’s world starts to be multicolored again.

Diverse and colorful, this picture book is anything but dull. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Review: One Shoe, Two Shoes by Caryl Hart

| Tasha

One Shoe, Two Shoes by Caryl Hart

One Shoe, Two Shoes by Caryl Hart, illustrated by Edward Underwood (9781547600946)

With a clear nod to Dr. Seuss and his iconic Red Fish, Blue Fish, this picture book celebrates rhymes, colors and footwear. The book begins with the dog having one shoe and the human having one shoe, then the two shoes are worn for a walk. There are different colored shoes, knotted laces, cowboy boots, and much more. Then a little mouse makes an appearance near the shoes. Could it be that the shoe is a house for a mouse? How many mice? The counting begins and eventually ends at ten. The dog investigates the mice for awhile but then heads out on another walk after fetching some shoes.

Hart’s text is simple with a bouncy rhyme that keeps the book merry. The pace is fast and jaunty, with plenty of action words along the way to make the book wonderfully playful. The concepts of colors and counting are nicely woven into the story. The circular feel of the book beginning and ending with shoes and walks makes for a book that feels complete.

The illustrations are done in a modern flat style in pencil, ink and collage done with computer assistance. The images are large enough to use with a group and guessing games could be played along the way, matching the shoes with their names, counting the mice (who tend to hide) and finding colors.

A happy book about counting and colors. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy provided by Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Red House, Tree House, Little Bitty Brown Mouse by Jane Godwin

| Tasha

Red House, Tree House, Little Bitty Brown Mouse by Jane Godwin

Red House, Tree House, Little Bitty Brown Mouse by Jane Godwin, illustrated by Blanca Gomez (9780525553816)

Told in simple rhymes, this book invites the youngest children to explore its pages and engage with the questions asked inside. The book begins with houses, including a little tree house for the tiny mouse. Colors are explored and then there is counting on the next page combined with more colors. The book takes readers on a bus, into the ocean, on all sorts of transportation, and asks engaging questions of the reader along the way. The book ends by inviting readers to look for the mouse hiding in every illustration.

This picture book’s jaunty rhymes are reminiscent of classic children’s books like Go Dog Go! The way that children are invited to engage with the book is wonderful and will help parents new to sharing books with children understand the sorts of questions that can be asked about the images in any picture book. Gomez’s illustrations are full of pure and bright colors that leap from the page, glowing with red, green, blue, orange and pink. The people on the pages are diverse and the urban setting where most of the book takes place is busy and friendly.

Engaging and fun, this book is best shared with only a few children so their perspectives can be heard. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Dial Books.

Review: You Are Light by Aaron Becker

| Tasha

You Are Light by Aaron Becker

You Are Light by Aaron Becker (9781536201154)

Caldecott Honor winner Becker has created his first board book and what a beauty it is! The book almost glows with light and comes fully alive when raised toward the sun or a lamp where the colored circles shine. As the pages turn, light is celebrated. The way that it warms land, sips the sea, makes the rain, makes crops grow, and lights the moon. Particularly though, the light in each person is celebrated.

This board book is wonderfully simple and exceptionally designed. As pages turn, the primary colors overlap to form secondary colors and a complete rainbow, yet another way that light enters our lives. The poetry is effective and evocative, speaking to the power of light in our world. Still, it is the design and colors that truly make this book something particularly special.

Just right for learning colors and seeing a little one’s connection to the world. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

Reviewed from copy provided by Candlewick.