Patrick Paints a Picture

by Saviour Pirotta, Linzi West (Illustrations)

Let's paint a picture of that cornfield, says Aunt Emily to Patrick, as they sit looking out from the shade of a tree. As Patrick puts a yellow blob on his palette to paint the corn, a red squirrel runs into the field; when he puts down red, a bluebird appears. Each page reveals a new colour and a new creature - until Patrick's palette is filled with colours and the field with animals. This simple story, vividly illustrated, introduces all the basic colours and the concept of colour mixing to very young readers.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Art, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 11, 2007

About the author

Saviour Pirotta is the award-winning author of over one hundred fiction and nonfiction books for children. His works have been translated into 28 languages. Originally from Malta, he now lives in England.

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a lot to be said for simplicity when it comes to children's literature. This sweet book takes a back-to-basics approach yet still manages to incorporate elements that naturally appeal to toddlers and preschoolers. Further still, it looks new and fresh rather than worn and borrowed.

A young boy and his aunt (though she looks much more like a sister) set about painting the yellow of a field when colorful characters begin to enter the landscape. With each entrance--a white sheep, orange fox, blue bird--Patrick adds a new color to his palette.

There's a page at the back that explains color mixing. A lovely book.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, fast-paced and educational, the story taught how to combine colors to get other colors, used repetition to help memorize the color names, and offered the opportunity to name a color before it told you. There was even a summary page at the very back, showing the results of mixing different color combinations. One downside -- this is not an American book, so color is spelled colour throughout, but I guess our kids will have to get used to the idiosyncrasies of the English language sooner or later.

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for little ones learning about colors. Patrick and his Aunt Emily are sitting on a shaded hill over looking a cornfield. As Patrick sees various animals in a variety of color, he wants to add them to his cornfield painting. With easy to read words, and engaging, fun illustrations, this has become a favorite read in our house.

[Dannaca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was probably my favorite of the ones we did for this art themed story time. It's a simple story of a boy and his aunt painting what they see in a field. It was excellent for our sign language practice and it's simple enough to keep very young kids engaged while being interesting enough for the older kids too.

[Susan Eubank · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for a storytime about colors and nature.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick and his auntie Emily go to a field and see many happy animals and bright colors as they work together to paint a picture. Short, fast-paced and educational, the story taught how to combine colors to get other colors, used repetition to help memorize the color names, and offered the opportunity to name a color before it told you. There was even a summary page at the very back, showing the results of mixing different color combinations. One downside -- this is not an American book, so color is spelled colour throughout, but I guess our kids will have to get used to the idiosyncrasies of the English language sooner or later.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make a nice storytime read for preschoolers/toddlers. There is a nice interactive element with the color guessing game. The only weird thing is that the field of 'corn' looks nothing like corn! Maybe wheat, but not corn...and I live in Indiana, I've seen my fair share of corn fields, and so have the kids in my programs....otherwise, great read!

[Katieb (MundieMoms) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for little ones learning about colors. Patrick and his Aunt Emily are sitting on a shaded hill over looking a cornfield. As Patrick sees various animals in a variety of color, he wants to add them to his cornfield painting. With easy to read words, and engaging, fun illustrations, this has become a favorite read in our house.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but effective book for young children just mastering their colours. Patrick wants to paint a cornfield, and as various animals appear he needs more and more colours. Gives the little one the chance to identify the colours, and teaches basic colour mixing. Very popular with my 2 year old.

[Megan Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

perfect story to tell smaller kids about the color wheel and how to mix the basic colors to create more, and with a helpful chart in the book to remember the color combinations. I really like the illustratations as well.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patrick and his Aunt Emily paint a picture of a meadow and name the colors of all the animals that peak out of the meadow while they are painting. A great book for toddlers and preschoolers who are learning their colors.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations, as well as it taught about colors, especially how colors are made by combining the primary colors.

[Marge]

Patrick learns how to paint and use color. Lots of fun to read with Dot, Mouse Paint, Rabbits colors.

[Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids LOOOOOVEd this book...Why? I dont know! It's not a bad book; was simple. Maybe to do with the colors.

[Ngoc Dang · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book in teaching colors. This book also shows how two colors can mixed together to make a different color. Teachers can do a science lesson and let children discover colors.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute picture book for teaching colors.