The Deep Blue Sea: A Book of Colors
PreSchool-Grade 2–Sharply focused, vividly hued artwork makes this concept book a standout. On each full-bleed spread, the cumulative text introduces a new color: There's the sea, the deep blue sea is followed by There's a rock, a red rock in the middle of the deep blue sea. As the pictures zoom in closer to the rock, readers see a green tree, brown nut, purple parrot, orange butterfly, etc. Then a white cloud turns to gray, the yellow sun disappears, and it begins to rain. The final pages show the rock and all of its colorful inhabitants encircled by a rainbow. The rhythmic text is enticing and reads aloud smoothly. There are enough surprises to hold listeners' attention, and the language is simple enough for beginning readers. The digitally created illustrations are elegantly designed. Shadows and textures give the images a sense of movement. Children who look closely will see fish darting beneath the rippled sea, the reflection of the sun on the water's surface, and the nuances of the palm tree's trunk. Different shades of each hue are incorporated into the pictures, creating visual interest and showing youngsters that there are variations of colors. The words are printed in black, with the name of each color appearing in the appropriate hue. A real treat.–Joy Fleishhacker,School Library JournalCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.