Mix It Up!

by Hervé Tullet

Accept Hervé Tullet's irresistible invitation to mix it up in a dazzling adventure of whimsy and wonder. Follow the artist's simple instructions, and suddenly colors appear, mix, splatter, and vanish in a world powered only by the reader's imagination. Tullet—who joins such greats as Eric Carle and Leo Lionni as a master of his craft—sets readers on an extraordinary interactive journey all within the printed page. Tullet prompts plenty of giggles in addition to a profound understanding of colors, and once again displays his unique genius and vision in a work that is a glorious and richly satisfying companion to Press Here.

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Juvenile, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 2014

About the author

Hervé Tullet is the creator of more than fifty children’s books, including Press Here, which has been translated into twenty-seven languages. He loves to provoke surprise with his books, as well as in the dynamic workshops that he takes part in. He lives in Paris and is celebrated internationally for his playful, inventive, and interactive storytelling.

Reviews

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep writing a review and it vanishes on the App.... very annoying..

LOVED LOVE this book! Great for the little artistic person in your life. Each page has a new paint surprise. Even my nine-year-old was laughing along. Very engaging: put your hand here, mix this color with this one and BAM a new color.

This was a library borrow but I'd like to own it for our collection.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Press Here a couple of years ago to the kids, but they didn't like it as much as I did. I spotted Mix It Up in the local library this week, so added it to the pile of books we borrowed. It was a real hit with the kids. They stayed completely engaged the whole way through and with lots of squeals of delight and exclamations of "What the heck" when they saw what happened on each page. I got them to take turn at following the instructions and guessing what would happen. We haven't quite got our colour mixing yet, but they had lots of fun. A few more reads over the next week or two and I think they will remember what happens when you mix red and blue.

**Interview with my kids - Molly (4) & Tom (6)**

Me: Did you like that book?
Tom: Yeah! It's crazy awesome!
Molly: Mmmm Hmmmm

Me: What was the best bit?
Molly: All of them
Tom: The best bit was when I put my hand on then I took it off and there was a handprint.

Me: Molly, what happens when you mix red and blue?
Molly: Um. I don't know.
Tom: I know what it is but I'm not telling *then whispers "orange" to Molly when he thinks I'm not looking*
Molly: Mum, can I have a look through to see what black and white makes please?
Me: Sure *hands her book*

Me: Tom, what happens when you mix blue and yellow?
Tom: Blue and yellow. Blue and yellow. I think it makes orange. Yep, orange. Does it actually make orange?
Me: Let's have a look. *flick through book again to see what mixing the colours does*
Tom: So green?
Me: Yep.
Tom: So which ones make orange? *we look through the book again for orange* So it was red and yellow?
Me: Yes.

*Molly takes book back off me*
Molly: Can you read it again?
Tom: And this time you can do it in a pattern. Tom Molly Tom Molly Tom Tom Molly Molly

And after Tom drew I diagram of boys and girls faces to make sure I didn't mess the pattern up, that's what we did.

[Scottsdale Public Library]

What an innovative piece of literature!
A New York Times bestseller, and I can clearly see why.
This book teaches about art and color mixing in a way that is captivating for young children. The
interactive elements will quickly put a smile on any child’s face. As one who sees the
importance of art in this world, this book will definitely serve as an introduction to the field for
my child. Would highly recommend this book! - Adelina, SPL Teen Volunteer


Find a copy at Scottsdale Public Library

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It must be said immediately: this is an all-time great. It's seriously that good.

I got a free copy of this from Chronicle Books in my #ChronicleCrush box and didn't give it enough attention at first. I had seen it in Shelf Awareness and now here it was mixed in with a cookbook and a history book, so I had been under the assumption all along that this was some experimental creativity-boosting project for adults. I wish I had actually read it sooner instead of just flipping through!

I won't bother repeating everyone else in explaining what the book is; I think I was the last person to not get that. What I will say is that this celebration of the simple winds up being the most genuinely exciting experience you could have with a children's book. You are watching magic occur, and you are the magician. There is this symbolic feeling that you are waving your hands over the black cloth and then lifting it each time you turn a page to reveal a wonderful new creation underneath.

As you can see, this adult got sucked in. It's actually quite beautiful to think about how captivating something as simple as primary and secondary color-play still is an adult. I kept going into my inner four-year-old, which is never hard for me, and being so delighted by my imaginary color and art skills as well as the fun, encouraging text and everything I was learning. The activity questions require real thinking and get progressively more sophisticated. From an educational point of view, you just can't go wrong.

If you have small children in your life, you have to get them this book. It's so empowering and exciting and completely different from everything else out there. And I sincerely mean it when I count it as an all-time great. I love it, and you will, too.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars!

We love these interactive books! Very hands on and an awesome tool for sensory practice. It teaches a great deal about primary colors and what happens when you mix them up. Your child uses their hands/fingers to "pretend"they are mixing the colors together. Also super great for hand eye coordination activities. Kids enjoy being able to point and touch the book while also listening to the words and learning more about colors.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro super divertido, ideal para ser lido e sentido como foi: com a filhota:)*

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following up on his marvelously interactive Press Here , French author/artist Hervé Tullet turns his attention to colors in this entertaining and educational picture-book. Using daubs of paint on the page and written instructions for the reader/listener, Tullet demonstrates how colors can be mixed to create new shades.

Originally published in France as Couleurs, this fun little title is a worthy follow-up to its predecessor, creating an interactive experience that relies on the child's own actions and participation, rather than on any flaps or other paper engineering. It teaches the reader about colors, while keeping them entertained. Recommended to young would-be artists (which is really all young children), and to anyone looking for interactive books for toddlers and younger children.

[Donalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A playful, interactive book about colors from the author of Press Here! I can't wait to share this one with kids.

[Michelle (driftingsong) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly I cannot imagine a better book for teaching kids about mixing colours. It's so fun and interactive!

[Lorellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deceptively simple, interactive book about color mixing. Tot really enjoyed smacking the pages as instructed.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can never have too many color books to choose from for storytimes. This one is a great addition.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Debbie Massry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!!! Original, its like magic :)

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

His books are just so great. My son enjoyed Press Here more, but this one is terrific for teaching what happens when you mix colors without feeling like a “teaching” book.

[Veronika Pizano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kniha, ktorá neomrzí ani rokmi. A môžete pozorovať, ako je ročný človiečik ohúrený tým, čo dokáže a ako mu to postupne mesiacmi dochádza, že to nie je kúzlo, ale sila slova a maľby. Nehovoriac o veľmi prirodzenom učení miešania farieb.

[Niloufar · Rating 5 out of 5]

خلاقانه و بامزه. در عین سادگی، خیلی دوست‌داشتنی و باحال بود. :)
تجربه‌ی خوندنش به یاد موندنیه و به خاطر ارتباط مستقیمی که حین خوندن با متن و نویسنده حس می‌کنی، کتاب به خواننده حس جادویی بودن میده.

[RWaggoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you need a “how-to” book on finger paints, this is it. All you need is an eager toddler!

[N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hervé Tullet, author of the widely lauded Press Here (2010)which resulted in a landslide of interactive picture books being published has applied that formula rather successfully to his latest offering Mix It Up.

Children now able to swipe before they walk get results similar to a handheld screen in the pages of a book. All you have to do is follow directions then simply turn the pages getting a little poof of picture book magic.

Tullet allows readers to vicariously experiment with paint as well as introduces color combining in this fantastic work that promises to be yet another bestseller.

For children continuing to learn more about working with color, I suggest pairing Mix it Up with Mouse Paint (1995) by Ellen Stoll Walsh and Little Yellow and Little Blue (1959) by Leo Lionni.

See my full review at http://culturalcalories.wordpress.com...

[Aly Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

• Book summary
-Fun book that teaches children about their colors. This activity based book asks the reader to touch, rub, and count the color spots. Children learn how colors look after they mix together in this interactive picture book.

• Grade level, interest level, Lexile
-Pre-k through kindergarten

• Appropriate classroom use (subject area)
-Teach about colors with students and read this book.

• Individual students who might benefit from reading
-Students that enjoy painting or art in general will enjoy learning their colors with this book. As well as, students that are more kinesthetic learners.

• Small group use (literature circles)
-Have students work together to decide what color it will turn into before they turn the page.

• Whole class use (read aloud)
-Read and before turning the page, ask the class what color it will turn into.

• Related books in genre/subject or content area
-This book is a part of a series Herve Tullet created with his interactive color dots. He originally wrote “Press Here”, which teaches children their colors in an interactive story.

• Multimedia connections
-Available with Kindle or as a hardcover copy.

[Leilah Skelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hervé Tullet, creator of the incredible ‘Press Here’, has returned with another equally fun, uniquely interactive, straight-up UNMISSABLE book. Prepare for some colour-smushing adventures that require neither the rolling up of sleeves, nor the panic over the safety of soft furnishings.

The reader will discover with wide-eyed wonder the alchemy of colour mixing as they touch, tap, squish, tilt, rub, shake, and smudge their way through the pages. Each vibrant colour experiment is presented with high quality photography so that the paint textures – the spatters and the fingerprints – add authenticity to the minimal yet enthusiastically-toned instructional type at the bottom of each page. I dare you not to want to dig out your paint sets and have a go yourselves, actually…

Tullet’s key combination is:

1 part visual engagement,
1 part minimal instruction,
5 parts unbridled imagination of children around the ages of 3-5 years old.

And I think, all things considered, that he’s got the perfect mix.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following his clever Press Here, this book invites readers to touch the pages once again. Except in this book, readers are mixing colors, mashing things together, combining things, and having a marvelous messy time. Tullet excels at creating books that are immensely participatory despite having no flaps or pop ups. It’s all in the readers’ imaginations and that’s such a wonderful thing.

I consider this one of the best picture books about color that I have ever seen. Thanks to the feel of mixing the paints yourself, readers are left with a deeper understanding of color. They will get to add white to colors and see what happens, and black as well. They create secondary colors from primary ones and leave their own hands on the page too. Clever, interactive and wildly imaginative, this is another winner from Tullet.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I give a title 5 stars because it made me feel 5 stars worth of emotion reading it. Other times I give 5 stars to a book because it is of such stellar quality that I feel to not do so would be a lie. Happily, Mix It Up! presents a combination of both of these reasons. The genius of Herve Tullet is back. This time the clever, playful narration previously seen in Press Here turns toward creating colors. This interactive wonder is endlessly fun to read, but perhaps what is even more fun is introducing it to others. Readers may want to be prepared with paint on hand to further explore once they reach the final page.

[L.E. Fidler · Rating 5 out of 5]

easily my kids' current favorite book (kids are ages 6, 3.5, and 1.5)...both the middle and the youngest find it hysterical and it occupied their attention for a good 10 minutes (one in the doctor's waiting room and one before bed).

i think the success of this one is in the telling of it. it's a cute gimmick and a nice introduction into color-mixing. my children are obsessed with painting and making a mess, so the interactive portion is key (and, quite frankly, i enjoyed that the book requires active reading and listening).

if i taught preschool art, i'd be ALLLL over this book.

[Teré Mashburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Text-to-Teaching Connection:

This book is amazing and interactive. As a response activity I would perform the exact same sequences that the book did. I'd prepare color swatches to mirror the pages in the book. Once students have the correct paper/sheet to correspond with the book page image we will would proceed to read the next step. When we turn the page in the book students will see that their results match the book. Overall students are learning about colors and how to make color by mixing them.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't usually review all the picture books I read with Olivia, but this was amazing. She's had "Press Here" since she was a baby and this is a perfect step up. She's just starting to understand mixing colors and this book really made her feel like she was painting and playing and she was completely delighted.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read this to pre-K children and they loved pressing the dots to see what would happen next. Each student got to take a turn. I carried the book to them rather than have them come up to me which didn't interrupt the flow. It shows how mixing primary colors creates secondary and includes mixing black and white. Fun, interactive book!

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in love with this book. I can't wait to share. As I was reading I thought it would be a great book to read through with the kids helping to press here, etc. It introduces many color extension activities to expand the learning outside of story time.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love Tullet's art read-alouds! Another author who makes it so easy for parents to read to their little ones! Fun, educational, exciting! My son anticipates each turn of the page. A MUST READ.

[Mender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great kids book. My 5yr old hates art, refuses to participate, but he loves this book. We have read it four times and he loves interacting with it, even though he genuinely can't seem to work out what the colours mixing together are going to make. He's enthusiastic, not bright ;)

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful imaginative book that will have readers shaking, poking, prodding, and squishing according to the authors instructions.