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| ISBN 10 : 0 06 225209 7 ISBN 13 : 978 0 06 225209 8 (Hardcover) |
A blue's got the blues
Blue Strawberries? Blue fire engine? That's what happens when a blue crayon is wrongly considered as a red crayon.
He is blue (crayon), but wrongly labeled as red. He has a whole set of family members and classmates (all are various colors of crayons). As he goes on drawing blue strawberries and blue foxes, everyone thinks he is not good enough to be a red crayon.
All are trying to make him better by teaching and helping him to paint in red (as per his label). But things take a different turn, when one day, he draws blue waters and life changes into a totally new color for him.
My Comment:
Wow! That is my first feeling about the book, after it made me to think and revise the identities, I set on my kids. This is one of the rare children's book, which ponders over the thought line of an grownup.
A crayon, facing problems with a wrong label, is the topmost layer of this story. But at a deep level, the author has wrapped up multiple thoughts about identity crisis and finding ourselves. Any adult, who would read this book is sure to spend a moment, poring over these concepts. (Though the book gives a slight hint of transgender crisis, it is way over above that one topic).
The illustrations are sweet and simple (and childish too, in a good sense), but they convey a lot of emotions and details. They conduct us, the pain of blue crayon while painting blue strawberry and its liberal freedom while painting sky. (The grandparents' crayons, being the smallest ones of all, is a cute visual idea. And, wow, their colors are silver and gray, for their age.)
All being said, I cannot just say this is a wonderful children's book. There is a life lesson for everyone, in finding ourselves, in this book.
Published By : Greenwillow Books
Number of Pages : 40
Classification: Emotional (Self Identity)
Age : Preschooler, Kindergartener, Grades 1-3
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What an interesting concept for a book. I love to find books that are thought-provoking. Thanks for sharing at the KLBH.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughts. I too prefer books that mix up fun and concepts. This is one such book.
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