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Overview
Lemons are not Red. Apples are red. Lemons are yellow. . . .
Clever cutouts in the pages make a simple, original, and utterly beguiling introduction to color.
Laura Vaccaro Seeger, whose The Hidden Alphabet dazzled critics and readers alike, introduces young children to color in this unique concept book with die cuts. The opening spread features a big, bright red lemon and the simple text, "Lemons are not RED." When the spread is turned an equally bright yellow lemon appears ("Lemons are YELLOW") across from a luscious red apple ("Apples are RED").
And so it goes, from carrots that are not purple through reindeer that are not white, et al. The book ends with "The moon is not BLACK / The moon is SILVER / The night is BLACK / Good night! And the reader sees a tranquil night landscape and a house with the lights turned out.
Synopsis
Lemons are not Red. Apples are red. Lemons are yellow. . . .
Clever cutouts in the pages make a simple, original, and utterly beguiling introduction to color.
Laura Vaccaro Seeger, whose The Hidden Alphabet dazzled critics and readers alike, introduces young children to color in this unique concept book with die cuts. The opening spread features a big, bright red lemon and the simple text, "Lemons are not RED." When the spread is turned an equally bright yellow lemon appears ("Lemons are YELLOW") across from a luscious red apple ("Apples are RED").
And so it goes, from carrots that are not purple through reindeer that are not white, et al. The book ends with "The moon is not BLACK / The moon is SILVER / The night is BLACK / Good night! And the reader sees a tranquil night landscape and a house with the lights turned out.
Child Magazine
Thick lemon-yellow brushstrokes frame the image of a plump red ... lemon? "Lemons are not RED," explains the text. True enough, as a turn of the page reveals a lemon-shaped die-cut that converts the red lemon into a yellow one. Kids will adore righting the wrongs of carrots painted purple and flamingos gone gray. (Ages 2 to 4)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2004
Editorials
From the Publisher
"This creatively designed volume combines an introduction to colors with a bedtime story" —Booklist "Vaccaro once more delivers a compositionally faultless primer." —Publishers Weekly, starred review "The creator of The Hidden Alphabet (Roaring Brook, 2003) offers another visual treat.... Illustrated with richly colored yet simple oil paintings, this offering will delight preschoolers."—School Library Journal "The heavy paper should stand up to multiple readings and pokings.... the colors and textures are nearly edible." —Horn Book "Seeger has done marvelous things with her brushwork, from impasto to shimmering smoothness...Clever, imaginative, and utterly beguiling."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Cleverly designed concept book uses brilliant colors and die-cuts."—2005 ALA Notable Book (American Library Association) "Kids will adore righting the wrongs of carrots painted purple and flamingos gone gray."—Child Magazine Best Book of 2004 "Artfully placed and shaped die-cuts lead toddlers into an interactive world of bright colors."—New York Public Library Best Book for Giving and Sharing, 2004From The Critics
Thick lemon-yellow brushstrokes frame the image of a plump red ... lemon? "Lemons are not RED," explains the text. True enough, as a turn of the page reveals a lemon-shaped die-cut that converts the red lemon into a yellow one. Kids will adore righting the wrongs of carrots painted purple and flamingos gone gray. (Ages 2 to 4)Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2004
Publishers Weekly
Having expertly explored letters in The Hidden Alphabet, Seeger now turns her attention to colors, again using die-cuts to great effect, neatly revealing objects with correct and incorrect hues. The book begins with the title statement (the line is reused with different objects and colors throughout) on a yellow spread; a die-cut opening in a lemon shape, on the right, allows the red hue below to show through. When readers turn the page, they discover that the red shade is part of an apple, while the die-cut lemon shape, now on the left, appears in its proper yellow, from the previous spread ("Lemons are yellow/ Apples are red"). The heavy brushstrokes that Seeger applies to the backgrounds and objects add pleasingly tactile textures to the otherwise simple, cutout shapes. Other color pairs show a gray flamingo that turns its proper pink next to an elephant's profile, and blue grass (of the non-twangy variety) that becomes green next to a cloud-swept blue sky. After revealing the moon to be silver and the night to be black in the penultimate scene, the light of a die-cut window in a small country cottage goes dark as readers turn the page and the text bids them "Good night!" Vaccaro once more delivers a compositionally faultless primer. Ages 2-5. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
With the vast selection of children's books on the market today that focus on teaching kids their primary colors, it may seem hard to believe that anyone could come up with a fresh twist on such an old theme. That, however, is exactly what Laura Vaccaro Seeger has done. Following in the same tradition as her previous book, The Hidden Alphabet, this contribution has also been named an ALA Notable Book. This honor comes as no surprise as this delightful, wonderfully illustrated book is fun and engaging. Her use of color and artistic design includes paper cutouts of various objects to first show the reader what color objects are not (such as "lemons are not red") and then, with a turn of page, the color they actually are ("lemons are yellow"). Children will love having this book read to them, particularly at bedtime. Overall, it is a great book to give, and it is a must-have for any collection. 2004, Roaring Brook Press, Ages 2 to 5.—Sheree Van Vreede