Tackling 10 different colors, Museum Colors: The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an ambitious concept book. Through paintings from its vast collection, this book shows examples of color and hopefully engages the reader with interest or curiosity in the works of art. The book follows a pattern: a work of art is shown and a question posed: “What color are the lady’s lips?” The word “lips” is in pink text. You turn the page, see “pink” written in large pink letters, with the facing page containing four additional paintings, all with significant areas of pink. At the back of the book there is a key with thumbnails of the paintings and related information about them. This book has a lot of appeal for art lovers, but as an instructional book about color it can be confusing. Even though the large letters that spell out each color are the color itself, the four paintings that show examples of the color all have many other colors in them. Optimum use would be one on one as the paintings are very small, and an adult could ask questions about the paintings to spark further interest or to clarify the colors. Preschool to first grade. No awards could be found.

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). (2006). Museum colors: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, N.Y: Metropolitan Museum of Art. ( )