School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Readers will think of rainbows in a whole new way after experiencing this imaginative book. Josephine is a young brown-skinned girl who is excited to experiment with paint colors. She starts with the basics (red, blue, and yellow) and proclaims each to be her favorite--that is, until real magic happens when she accidentally spills some orange paint into a bit of blue. "What was this beautiful, breathtaking color?"--a gorgeous shade of brown. Jo doesn't stop there; she mixes even more combinations of colors to get varying shades of brown, until she gets the perfect shade to paint a picture of her family, and ultimately, her own portrait. Exuberant pen, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations seem to burst from the page, and as the story progresses, Jo herself becomes part of the pictures, painting a swirl of brown breads, birds, and butterflies. Great for kids from preschool on, this is a fantastic book to use with lessons on color and art and a great conversation starter on skin color. VERDICT A joyful choice that explores color in a deeply personal way. Highly recommended.--Sue Morgan
Booklist Review
The assignment is to paint with your favorite color, but Josephine cannot decide. Her responses to the colors are both emotional and pictorial. By starting with the primary colors, the teacher promises she will have everything she needs. Vibrant ink, watercolor, and colored-pencil illustrations celebrate each color and the things that Jo likes, such as bright red berries and crisp watermelon; yellow sunshine, honeybees, and wildflowers; and cool blue fish and ocean water. Swirling colors convey the concept of mixing the paints, and a shifting perspective puts Jo into some of the pictures. Moving onto the secondary colors, she explores orange, green, and purple. Then something unexpected happens: blue flows into orange and creates an amazing shade of brown. Jo is thrilled to use this color, then excitedly mixes purple and yellow, then green and red. Putting all those hues together results in Jo's true favorite color, the beautiful brown she needs to paint her family, friends, and herself. The names of the colors appear as that color in the text, making a further concept connection.
