Imagine a rainbow without color, or flamingos, or red shoes. What about a zebra? Oh . . . hmmmm.
This whimsical, layered exploration through color celebrates that variety, diversity, and difference create joy.
Christopher Nielsen invites you to imagine a world with color . . . and without. Cleverly juxtaposing illustrations, he shows how color makes our world wonderful. Deceptively simple, this is a book that can spark discussion about difference and the richness and depth it adds to life.
Christopher Nielsen is a Norwegian comics/graphic novels maker, dramatician and animation movie director. He is the brother of deceased rock musician Joachim «Jokke» Nielsen.
He is "grand old man" of Norwegian underground comics, and has enjoyed success also in more mainstream culture (theatre, movie, national TV) with his often grotesque characters and stories from the marginalized subcultures and classes of Norway: junkies, alcoholics, prostitutes, "rednecks" and so on.
A little girl LOVES color, and is dismayed when she thinks about a world in black and white. We see good examples of this; we see a full color page on the left, but a black and white page on the right, often continuations of the color picture. This gives us a black and white pot of gold at the end of a gray toned rainbow, as well as a zebra that isn't the best example! The little girl is determined that everything should be colorful so brings in a magic act and instructs the readers to close their eyes, repeat after her, tap on the book and turn the page... which of course is rendered in glorious color.
As someone whose love of color was probably fostered by Brown and the Provensen's The Color Kittens (it's the only one of my childhood Little Golden Books that had the cover completely fall off!), I am all for having lots of color in the world. Painting an entire floor of a house the same gray? Bah! Wearing only the colors of pond scum? Ridiculous! Color may not exactly make the world go round, but it certainly makes it a happier and more interesting place.
The change between color and black and white illustrations is cleverly done, and will make an impression on younger readers who are not used to seeing picture books in black and white.
This would make a great gift for a young color enthusiast, along with a fresh pack of 96 crayons, or even better, the super large pack of 120 caryons! I wouldn't have known what to do with myself! Keep it on your palette along with other books celebrating the wonderful world of color like Elliott and Turk's Color the Sky, Reiss' Colors, Daywalt and Jeffers' The Crayon's Book of Colors, and Austin's Monsters Love Colors.
COLOR MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND is a charming and colorful picture book. The story imagines a world without color and how sad it would be by juxtaposing color pages on the left with black-and-white images on the right of each page spread (until the reader participates in a little magic).
What I loved: This was a fun, and at times, silly, celebration of color! Readers will enjoy this thought experiment and giggle along with some of the asides as the young girl laments a world without color - and such things as the zebra who doesn't help. Children can consider all the colors in their life and how much they appreciate seeing them all alongside the text. This is an exuberant and charming read that will appeal to preschoolers and up.
The font is very clear and easy to read throughout without too much text on any page, keeping it turning as quickly as readers would like. The conversational style adds to the fun as the story is narrated by the character, directed towards the reader.
Final verdict: COLOR MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND is a charming and silly book that celebrates the colors all around us!
Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Color Makes The World Go Round! Is a powerful, heartfelt, creative, expressive, and important read! I absolutely adore the needed message this book beautifully and uniquely portrays. The beauty of a diverse world full of colorful differences is showcased in this story. How boring is a black and white world? One girl finds out when the page is split between a colorful page and a black and white page. As she tests out the shocking split and tries to fix the lack of color, the reader begins to notice all the ways color is present in the world. From nature, to animals, to rainbows, to the girl & her best friend color is everywhere making the world a stunning special place. Will the girl be able to bring back the color?
In a world so often shaded in black and white, how important it is to remind our little ones that color can illuminate and fill our days with variety and joy and life. Told with a lighthearted voice using some wonderful interactive elements, this book will deliver, engage, and delight. The works of art all live in brilliant contrast, vibrant and stark, buoyant and reserved, all beautifully illustrating the need to embrace every shade of the whole wide spectrum that makes the world go round.
Our differences make us beautiful! Be proud of the skin you're in. What would happen if the world had no 🌈 color? It'd be pretty uninteresting, as you find out in this book. Fall 🍁leaves, the Northern Lights, 🪸coral, and 🦎 chameleons would be no fun at all. With a bit of magic, the reader can bring the color back because color is what makes us special.