MAY 2022 - AudioFile
Tashi Thomas narrates this picture-book adaptation, which delves into the depths of the color blue. The author examines every aspect of it— from the science behind it and its discovery to the cultural and religious significance of producing a color so rare in nature. The author also notes the often harmful economic and social impacts of early production methods on enslaved people. Thomas’s performance of the frequently lyrical text is enthusiastic, spirited, and animated. However, the loop of sprightly walking-pace music often makes the audiobook feel like it’s moving toward a crescendo that never arrives. Tracks containing author’s notes and fun facts are more muted in delivery. The picture book would be a welcome companion. L.T. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 01/10/2022
In this entrancing metered narrative, Brew-Hammond traces the origins of the color blue—including beliefs around the hue, methods of production and efforts “to make a blue that wasn’t so/ difficult or cruel to produce,” and even resulting idioms. Lilting free verse acknowledges the human pain and labor that went into procuring sources of blue over time, while highlighting the significance the color has held in art, fashion, and culture worldwide. Caldecott Honoree Minter contributes dimensional spreads, rendered in lush layers of acrylic wash that augment the text with carefully balanced abstract images, patterns, and realistic figures, as well as differing shades of the titular color. A vibrant historical picture book that will leave readers curious about other colors. Back matter includes an author’s note. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
"Sumptuous art that never stops surprising." —NPR
★ "Entrancing... A vibrant historical picture book that will leave readers curious about other colors." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ "Stunning and informative—and as profoundly rich as the color blue." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ "Brew-Hammond’s graceful prose and fluid organization, coupled with Minter’s emotive illustrations, set synapses firing." —The Bulletin, starred review
School Library Journal
★ 04/15/2022
Gr 1–4—"The color blue is all around us. Have you ever wondered where it comes from?" Thus begins a global history of blue: where it is found in nature, the meaning people ascribe to it, the ways people have produced it (lapis lazuli, snails, indigo, chemicals), and the feelings it represents, including, but not limited to, "the blues." Gorgeous illustrations done in acrylic wash on watercolor paper showcase every shade found in the sky, water, cloth, jewelry, and in religious uses. The people depicted are from various times and places, including ancient Egypt, Phoenicia, Indonesia, Mexico, Israel, and West Africa. Back matter includes an author's note, additional facts, and selected sources. VERDICT This history of a beautiful color with a "complicated history" is valuable on its own, and has potential to be used in English, social studies, and art classes.—Jenny Arch
MAY 2022 - AudioFile
Tashi Thomas narrates this picture-book adaptation, which delves into the depths of the color blue. The author examines every aspect of it— from the science behind it and its discovery to the cultural and religious significance of producing a color so rare in nature. The author also notes the often harmful economic and social impacts of early production methods on enslaved people. Thomas’s performance of the frequently lyrical text is enthusiastic, spirited, and animated. However, the loop of sprightly walking-pace music often makes the audiobook feel like it’s moving toward a crescendo that never arrives. Tracks containing author’s notes and fun facts are more muted in delivery. The picture book would be a welcome companion. L.T. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2022-08-31
A few good reasons to appreciate the color blue.
Throughout history, humans have captured, cultivated, and coaxed the color blue out of everything from mollusks to rocks to plants. In this fascinating exploration of our relationship to this once-precious color, Brew-Hammond begins by discussing its elusive nature: Seawater is blue, but the color disappears when water is cupped in one’s hand; similarly, crushing iris petals yields blue, but the hue quickly dissipates when soaked in water. Readers learn that the earliest known use of blue dates back to about 4500 B.C.E. in Afghanistan’s Sar-e-Sang Valley and that ancient Egyptians used it, too. But blue has been found worldwide. It was extracted from the bellies of particular shellfish in coastal Japan, Central America, the Mediterranean, and Mexico and harvested from plants in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Because of its rarity, blue has been considered a royal color reserved for use by the wealthy and privileged. Laced with insights, Brew-Hammond’s meditative verse covers a wide range of cultures, time periods, and geographical locations, while Minter’s mesmerizing images highlight the significance of blue to diverse groups of people through culturally specific visuals such as hairstyles and clothing design. The highly textured backgrounds add life and movement to the focal images in the foreground. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Stunning and informative—and as profoundly rich as the color blue. (author’s note, facts about blue, selected sources) (Informational picture book. 4-10)
