Mix It Up! by Herve Tullet

Mix It Up! by Herve Tullet, 56 pages

Mix It Up! is yet another interactive book by Herve Tullet.  Using your imagination and simple colors, experiment with mixing and changing colors.

Red Light, Green Lion by Candace Ryan and Jennifer Yerkes

Red Light, Green Lion by Candace Ryan and Jennifer Yerkes, 34 pages

If you know a child who needs to learn their colors, this is a great book.  But, what is even funnier is that the book does a play on words with words beginning with li, like library and lima bean.

Bear Sees Colors by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman

Bear Sees Colors
by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman
24 pages








While taking a walk with Mouse, Bear meets many other friends and sees colors everywhere.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry - 215 pages

This is the second book in The Giver quartet -- although you would never know it from reading it.  There is one small mention of a character from The Giver that is merely described by his eye color.

I listened to this book on audio.  It is the story of Kira, a young girl who is saved because of her skills weaving.  She is charged with repairing the Singer's robe that conveys the history of her world in pictures.

I enjoyed the audio version of the story.  It was a good story on its own - without trying to tie it to The Giver series.

Little Blue and Little Yellow, by Leo Lionni

   Little Blue and Little Yellow, by Leo Lionni, 48 pages

I love the minimalist art of this children's picture book.  As with most Lionni books, the art is cool, the premise sounds interesting, and then the story kind of fizzles out without ever getting anywhere.  But blue and yellow make green.

Lemons are not Red, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

  Lemons are not Red, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, 32 pages
As usual, using die cuts and lots of color, Vaccaro Seeger makes the picture book more of an experience than just reading.

Green, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

 Green, by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, 36 pages
This is a really beautiful book- yes, there aren't a ton of words- just pages illustrating various hues of the color green- but well-placed cut outs in the pages make the reading of it a true experience.  The art is just fantastic.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver by Lois Lowry - 180 pages

Jonas has been given one of the most honored jobs in his community - The Receiver.  He is to receive all the past memories that his people no longer keep for themselves.  Through his training, he receives memories of snow, sunshine, boats, animals, and colors -- all things his community gave up many generations ago so that they could have "sameness". 
I read this book in college shortly after it came out.  I thought then that is was one of the best children's books I had ever read.  I decided to read it again with the final book in The Giver series coming out.  I wanted to see if I still viewed the book in the same way.  I wanted to see if knowing where the series was going would change my view of the ending.  It didn't.  I still find myself thinking it is a book that everyone should read at some point in their life.  I also find myself believing the book ended a particular way (which I won't share as I don't want to spoil it for anyone else). 
Has anyone else read the book?  I'd love to know what your thoughts are on the ending The Giver.