Review by Booklist Review
*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 wait how? 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.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 4-Marisol, an "artist through and through," is very excited to participate with her class in painting a mural for the library. Marisol assigns herself the task of painting the sky, only to discover there is no blue paint. She ponders this dilemma while inadvertently observing the sky's transition from sunshine to twilight to gray dawn. Then she finds her answer! The audio leans towards depending on the book, yet the background shuffles, bells, and falling rain accompanied by the perfect tempo of music adds another colorful layer to Reynolds's soft water-colored illustrations and inspiring story line. A gentle nudge for the aspiring artist in all of us. © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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 colorsexcept 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)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
