The art is five stars. Gorgeous. On the first few reads, though, the story left me like huh? I thought it was a story about colors, about seasons, which is what I expected. But then it was about a girl turning into a tree and the ending didn't click for me.

On the surface, this is hardly a story at all (to be fair, a great many picture books don't really have stories -- just sequences). It took me several reads before I was like oh damn I think I get it maybe. They say blue is the color of the sky. And at the end of the book the sky is this bold red and orange dotted with black crows. Nice. How do we perceive the world around us? For that matter, how do crows perceive it?

So I think it takes some work to appreciate the text, but that's pretty true of most good poems and good art. I think this book could start some very interesting conversations with kids. And I do like books that ask a lot of questions. ( )

Hmmm.......okay, so this book is BEAUTIFULLY illustrated. It used a medium of acrylic paint on watercolor paper and photoshop. Truly, it is stunning to look at. The detailing, the brush strokes, how the illustrations tell a story....it has all of those things going for it.

Only I don't feel there is much of a story. Maybe I missed it. I can tell you that it will not work in a storytime at all. (It's too "out there"). It's a story of nature and self discovery. It's a story about seasons. It kind of feels all over the place. Unless it was meant to communicate that one color can be the expression of many thing......because then THAT makes sense. ( )

Lovely. ( )

Breathtaking is the only way to describe this book. Intricately detailed, beautifully colored artwork takes the reader through a journey of colors as a little girl explores her world and wonders at how the colors fit into it. Blue is the color of the ocean, yet up close the ocean is clear. The fields of grass look like a golden ocean but it is still only grass. Color heralds the change of seasons, brightly colored flowers in the spring, green leaves in the summer, gold and red leaves that fall in the autumn and the silence of white in the winter. Throughout, deft brush strokes and sketch lines keep this story in constant motion and make the reader feel the childlike wonder of the young narrator. Per usual, Tamaki’s art is the story and will keep young ones fascinated in an exploration of the detail.

Let's talk more about kid's books at I Read Kid's Book Journal ( )

Beautiful, imaginative -- colors, seasons, feelings, art. Diverse faces, wonderful movement. Contemplative. ( )