Review by Booklist Review
Learning colors is a staple of childhood development, but what about learning about colors? This engaging overview introduces kids to many facets of how colors are defined, created, perceived, combined, brightened, heightened, and transformed by creative, natural, and scientific processes. Written by a bagel-loving artist and children's book illustrator, the text directly addresses readers while sharing the author's research, including sometimes stinky or disgusting discoveries. Another interesting topic covered is the history of how color has been used to designate, symbolize, and convey information over centuries. There's plenty of science (light waves, prisms, chemistry) and technology (how to make crayons, dye clothing, oxidize sculptures) along with basic art facts (color wheel, famous artists, artworks). Selected colors (red, blue, yellow, green, purple, orange, pink, black) get an entire chapter each detailing various pigment-producing ingredients (minerals, plants, crushed bugs, cow pee), historic applications and meanings, and interesting sidebars. Every page is filled with charming, humorous, and instructive illustrations that effectively enhance the text while showing Weinberg's whimsical creativity. The final chapter offers recipes, activities, maps, the periodic table, an extensive glossary, notes, and a bibliography. There are very few books on this subject, and this accessible, fun, and enlightening selection makes a perfect addition for brightening up school and public library STEAM collections.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Using an effusive cartoon version of himself as a guide, Weinberg (Washer and Dryer's Big Job) joins forces with dog Waldo to lead readers along a delightfully meandering journey that gives new meaning to "color commentary." He begins by explaining foundational color principles, a vivid analogy always at the ready, as when he likens the sky to an "everything bagel wrapped around the earth" to describe the brilliance of sunrises and sunsets. Illustrated via sketches, clip art, and collage, this thorough, fanciful work explores the technology and global nuances of eight colors--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, and black--and features encounters with artists such as Yayoi Kusama, shown in a polka-dotted red room, and Kerry James Marshall, who discusses pigments for painting Black Americans' skin ("Blackness can have complexity. Depth. Richness"). Weinberg also delves into numerous color backstories, such as the origin of piuri, "also called Indian yellow," and the significance of the pink triangle in queer history. Color-making activities (such as creating pink dye from avocados) and a host of additional insights and information conclude, making it clear that color is a subject Weinberg just can't quit. Ages 6--10. (Aug.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3 Up--Science, art, and history come together in this study of color. From the very start, readers are engaged in the exploration: "I am an artist (I bet you are too!)." Weinberg's dog Waldo serves as a guide throughout, on everything from light waves that exist in on the electromagnetic spectrum to the many ways pigments have been created over thousands of years. Humor distinguishes this book from others on the topic, with just the right amount of gross references to charm older elementary and middle school students. Bugs, cow pee, and sea snails are revealed to be the ingredients of certain pigments while substances like radium and arsenic, which produce a glorious shade of green, have been proven deadly. Each section focuses on a single color with extra fun facts included in text boxes and speech bubbles, enhanced by bright, hilarious illustrations. Tribute is paid to many famous artists and respect given for the LGBTQIA+ community for the evolution of the rainbow flag and symbolic pink triangle. Extensively researched and documented, this book spans the globe and many centuries yet conveys information simply and clearly, making it accessible across a wide range of grades. It's guaranteed to provide pleasure on the first read and for dipping into again and again. VERDICT This imaginative combination of art and text is a must-purchase for school and public libraries.--Gloria Koster
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An illustrator's valentine to colors is a globe-spanning tribute to art and its many forms of expression. Taking each hue on the color wheel in succession and wedging in chapters on pink, black, and white, Weinberg answers the titular question in a lively and thought-provoking if "superly duperly" simplified way: Color is art, science, a recipe, a feeling, language, time, change, and, well, "Everything!" Though he only passingly refers to artificial colors, the topics he addresses are fascinating and clearly explained, from the flora and fauna that humans have ground up to create natural pigments to the electromagnetic spectrum to the arsenic-laced green wallpaper that may have killed Napoleon. Rightly noting that different people and cultures actually see colors differently, the author presents examples of art from a broad range of places and eras. Readers can compare and contrast Jan van Eyck'sArnolfini Portrait or King Tut's mask with the art of First Nations Australian painter Emily Kame Kngwarreye and Haida wood and stone carver Charles Edenshaw. Conducting his tour in "person," Weinberg incorporates informally drawn images of himself and his dog throughout, tucking in other artist portraits as well, notably in a hilarious spread of Raphael'sSchool of Athens. The result is a winning, impressively comprehensive multidisciplinary take on the topic. Closing with a wealth of further information and resources, Weinberg includes lists of color-centric stories, plus recipes for making natural dyes (with adult help). People represented feature a wide range of skin tones. A droll, effervescent, and wide-ranging work. (glossary, map, table of elements, sources, index)(Nonfiction. 10-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
