آبی کوچولو، زرد کوچولو

by Leo Lionni, غلامرضا امامی (Translator)

Japanese edition of Little Blue and Little Yellow. A very unique way to express human friendship and love, a must-read for children. In Japanese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Art, Friendship, Fiction, Family, Storytime

36 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 highly acclaimed children's books. He received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner--for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Leo Lionni died in October of 1999 at his home in Tuscany, Italy, at the age of 89.

Leo Lionni has gained international renown for his paintings, graphic designs, illustrations, and sculpture, as well as for his books for children. He was born in Holland in 1910 of Dutch parents, and although his education did not include formal art courses (in fact, he has a doctorate in economics from the University of Genoa), he spent much of his free time as a child in Amsterdam's museums, teaching himself to draw.

Lionni's business training gradually receded into the background as his interest in art and design grew. Having settled in Milan soon after his marriage in 1931, he started off by writing about European architecture for a local magazine. It was there that he met the contacts who were to give him a start as a professional graphic designer. When he moved to America in 1939, Lionni was hired by a Philadelphia advertising agency as art director. Later he became design director for the Olivetti Corporation of America, and then art director for Fortune magazine. At the same time, his reputation as an artist flourished as he began to exhibit his paintings and drawings in galleries from New York to Japan.

Lionni launched his career as an author/illustrator of books for children in 1959. Originally developed from a story he had improvised for his grandchildren during a dull train ride, Little Blue and Little Yellow was the first of what is now a long list of children's picture books, including four Caldecott Honor Books.

Reviews

[Cam (Lana Belova) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked that the colours were chosen for telling a story of emotions and feelings that are bright and warm. A multilayered story for little ones, creatively thought up with gentleness and a heartwarming smile in one's heart!
Enjoyed this little story of the two little friends Blue and Yellow going on adventures together, learning and discovering wonderful things on their way 🙂🩵🍀.


2. Green butterfly by Gaspar Avila

[Georgia Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to call a moratorium, a ceasefire, on publisher blurbs. Calling this book "a playful way to introduce color concepts" is a crime which I won't stand by and watch. It casts these two as objects. Next we'll hear they're just splodges of paint. What else? What of love? What of daring? What of all the wonderful things this pair demonstrate?

My first book and still a favorite. Its truths continue to hold. When you love someone you hug them. Where you come from, however different from other homes, will always be your family. And new families can be made from both of them.

I grew up in a family which through marriage joined not just people but continents, histories, and lives. Multicultural wasn't a word for it then. We just called it love.

[piperitapitta · Rating 4 out of 5]

...Ma perché è verde?



Confesso: non è mio.
Non l'ho letto di mia iniziativa.
Non l'ho letto solo tre volte, ma tutte quelle (ancora!) che mia nipote Lorenza me l'ha chiesto (e non solo a me per fortuna) nella settimana di giugno in cui è stata a Roma :-)

Da ricordare (e già questo da solo sarebbe un motivo per leggerlo e per regalarlo a tutti i bambini che conoscete, che qualche anno fa Piccolo blu e piccolo giallo fu incluso nella lista dei libri per l'infanzia proibiti dal sindaco di Venezia)

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two colors form another color - but will they be accepted by 'their' colors? Beautiful book that is an abstract fable of inclusion. Small children will be able to understand that this book is about so much more than colors; it is about how we come together to create new ways of seeing our world - ways that include everyone.

[Plch · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband was really perplexed after reading this book, what was all about? Unexpectedly (for him) our children, like almost any other children, just love it and, of course, want to hear it and to repeat it over and over.
My oldest now says he's little blue and his best friend of the moment, who kisses him all the time, is little yellow. Pity that little blue has not a little brother because my youngest couldn't but chose little red and little red doesn't get much action.

[arcobaleno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uscito nel 1959, è l'esempio di cosa si può fare di nuovo. Racconto, fiaba, magia, logica (naturalmente a livello infantile) si compenetrano in un discorso poetico e in una rappresentazione grafica essenziale. Quando presentiamo il libro all'adulto che non lo conosce, ci rendiamo conto di un blocco immediato. «Il bambino lo capirà?» è la domanda. Lo tranquillizziamo: è sufficiente leggerlo una o due volte e il bambino se ne impossessa, se lo porta a letto quando va a dormire, lo vive con immedesimazione totale.
Piccolo blu e piccolo giallo sono due macchie di colore che vivono un'avventura a lieto fine. Sembra poco ed è tutto.
[Roberto Denti, Milano 1973, Tu sei un poeta!]

Ricordo oggi Leo Lionni, nato ad Amsterdam il 5 maggio 1910, con il suo più celebre e geniale albo per bambini. Eppure nel luglio 2015 "Piccolo blu e piccolo giallo" è stato inserito in una lista di libri per l'infanzia proibiti dal sindaco di Venezia, che gli attribuiva aspetti del tutto estranei all'intento dell'Autore e non cogliendone invece la semplicità e l'immediatezza. Il fatto ha generato molto scalpore e il libro, di contro, è diventato il simbolo della libertà culturale, rendendo merito al valore di Leo Lionni.

Letto, ri-letto, ri-ri-letto,... n-volte...

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm I'm not sure about this one. The colour characters and the blending of the kids to the rejection of the parents is clearly a metaphor for racism and acceptance. I'm just not convinced a nice hug (what the parents do) is what's going to overcome racism? It's a typical depiction focusing on individual prejudice instead of structural oppression. And the metaphor doesn't quite work either--like what does the blending actually stand for?

(I also didn't like the line about the kids sitting still in school. It felt weirdly doctrinal).

Lol at the people being like, what a cool book about art and colours.

[Arezoo Gholizadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگه قصه رو در شرایط دیگه‌ای می‌خوندم شاید خیلی حس خاصی بهش پیدا نمی‌کردم اما الان خیلی رقیقم و این چند روز همه‌ش به آدم‌ها و اهمیتی که توی زندگی‌مون دارن فکر کرده‌م و این قصه شاید به خوبی این تاثیر و اهمیت رو نشون بده.

اواخر خرداد سال ۴

[Iacopo Melio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Semplice, diretto, leggero ma profondo, “essenziale”. Pensare che alla soglia del 2020 ci sia stato un sindaco (chissà di quale parte politica...) che ha proibito un libro, per di più un libro simile, strumentalizzandolo nel vederci della pessima educazione, mi fa rabbrividire e arrabbiare allo stesso tempo.
“Piccolo blu e piccolo giallo”, con disegni scarni, quasi infantili ma originali (macchie di colore), riesce a raccontare la bellezza dell’incontro con l’altro e l’arricchimento che nasce quando ci si vuole “mescolare” alla diversità.
Consigliato, da leggere e rileggere ai nostri piccoli, affinché nessuno possa più infondere paura condannando parole di inclusione.

[April Thompson Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give a girl a children's art book and you make her smile. Big.

[Fjóla · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son (3 1/2) used to ask me these questions about the colors constantly, and almost obsessively. And most of them I could not answer. "What happens when you mix orange and silver? What about brown and purple? What does blue and black make??" When we saw this book at the library, I'm sure he thought: "Finally, I'll get the answers to ALL my questions." In any case, when you mix yellow and blue, you end up with green, and that's the topic of this book. There's an emotional twist to it as well. Little yellow lives with his yellow mother and father and little blue with his blue parents. The two of them however are best friends. So much (and this my son knew for sure) that they mixed with each other and turned into green. Which should have been fine, except their parents didn't recognize them anymore, and pretty much rejected them. Tough! Although we were only talking about little dots and blobs on a page, I could see my son was a little shaken. Luckily, there was a happy ending and everybody ended up hugging everybody, with mixed outcomes ...

My son liked it. And it's pretty smart and even invites for discussion. I'm usually pretty generous with 3 star ratings, but I would have liked to rate this on a little higher but yet not 4 stars, rather somewhere in between.

Update 4/24/13: See One for another take on teaching tolerance with blots of color.

[Irma L. Munoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is great for beginner readers. It's a great way to incorporate art into reading. I got a chance to see my mentor use this book for a lesson. After reading this to her kindergarten class, students were able to recreate the story by using their water colors. With a venn diagram, students painted a circle yellow and the other circle blue. When students got to the center of the venn diagram they were able to see how blue and yellow made green when combined. It's an awesome way to teach primary colors and use art to demonstrate it!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sure I read this a long time ago, as I would have read a lot of Lionni books, but this one is here, kiddos are reading it, and so I read it again. I like it a lot. It's very simple, just dabs of bright color to tell a story. I am not sure what it means that the two kids--one blue, the other yellow--becoming green together, become unrecognizable to their parents suddenly, but the kids all liked it. Don't over think it, Dave.

[Mahdiye HajiHosseini · Rating 5 out of 5]

سومین کتاب از ده کتاب کلاسیک کودک منتخب پیتر هانت/
چقدر دارک البته.
که تا وقتی تغییر نکنی پذیرفته میشی

[Mauro Álvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nunca mezcles azul con amarelo. Xa sabes as consecuencias.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends. One day, Mama Blue goes out shopping and tells Little Blue to stay at home. Instead, Little Blue goes out to find Little Yellow to play. When they found each other, Little Blue and Little Yellow hugged. They hugged each other until they were green! When they came home, their parents did not recognize them because they were green instead of blue or yellow. Little Blue and Little Yellow were very sad and cried and cried until they were all tears. When they pulled themselves together, they were blue and yellow again. When the parents hugged both Little Blue and Little Yellow, they saw that blue and yellow together made green. Now they realized that their children were telling them the truth. In the end, the yellow family and the blue family hugged each other and played with each other.

I would recommend this book for younger children. One of the things this book addresses is the concept of friendship. Little Blue and Little Yellow are best friends, but they are also different. When they hug, they become a different color. This can raise the question if friends need to be the same, or if it's necessary for friends to have the same interests in order to even be friends. This can be extended to children who have different genders, different colors of skin, are from different place, or even speak a different language. This can lead to a discussion about diversity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kOsZ...

This is a WOW book for me because it is important for children to know that even though people are different that they can still be friends! Children sometimes jump to the conclusion that people cannot be friends if they look or seem different from themselves. This can be applied to children of different genders, race, etc. Diversity is very important to address to kids early on. No matter how different people are, they can still be friends!

[Rosemary Standeven · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short story for kids sort of about colours and mixing colours - but more about how each friend you make, or person you meet (or book that you read!) leaves part of itself in you. When that interaction is with someone you love (and want to hug), the piece left with you is something special. You become an amalgamation of all your meetings and experiences - and when you relate these things to your family (friends, colleagues, others ...) they gain a little something too.

Thank you to Georgia for pointing me to this book

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my favorite storytime book, because the pictures are pretty abstract. In my experience, some kids think there is some detail they are missing, so they come sit on my feet - or stand up in front of the other kids - to get a better look.

However.

If you want to share a story about accepting one another's differences, even and especially in the face of adversity; not judging someone based on their appearance/making new friends; trying new things; concepts of color (particularly blue + yellow = green); or a subtle nod to your child's mixed racial heritage; then boy, is this the story for you!

This could be shared with children of just about any age in very small groups, or adapted as a presentation (perhaps transparencies with an overhead projector?) for a medium-large group.
Also, you can have an extension activity with pieces of tissue paper or blobs of paint, allowing children to mix colors and see what they create. You could also *contrast* with the book in exploring how colors can or cannot separate back out.

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet little book. I heard about this book from Andrea Cheng’s Year of the Book. Definitely a read for children of all ages (especially as it would be a mother reading to a toddler if the child still doesn’t read yet)…The books makes me feel fuzzy, sweet, and loved. Those are the best books ever always! This story is about little blue and little yellow, just as the title says. Its so simple and adorable. Little blue and little yellow are friends and one day they seem to miss each other and when they find each other they hug and turn into little green. Their parents don’t recognize them until they cry into little pieces of yellow and blue, and then all the little pieces come back together again into the original little yellow and little blue. In Year of the Book, the girl in the story dresses as little yellow and little blue for halloween. It teaches us about primary colors and secondary colors. Its heart warming. Its so easy to grasp yet so abstract as well. Just so beautifully woven. Hands down, one of my all time favorite children picture books!

[Sara Kenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book a million stars if I could. A cherished children’s book. Have you ever seen a bunch of colors play ring around a roses? And hug? And cry? No you haven’t. Unless Leo Lionni told you first.

[Beatriz Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

eu vi um vídeo no youtube de alguém a folhear e a ler em voz alta ok isto é um livro italiano para crianças e achei mt fofo n percebi todas as palavras mas it's okay foi fofo af!!!!

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Blue and Little Yellow a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year, 1959

A simple but carefully crafted story about how children of various colors live together and have abiding friendships. This was amazing in that it was originally published in 1959.

"Leo Lionni, an internationally known designer, illustrator, and graphic artist, was born in Holland and lived in Italy until he came to the United States in 1939. He was the recipient of the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was honored posthumously in 2007 with the Society of Illustrators’ Lifetime Achievement Award. His picture books are distinguished by their enduring moral themes, graphic simplicity and brilliant use of collage, and include four Caldecott Honor Books: Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Hailed as “a master of the simple fable” by the Chicago Tribune, he died in 1999 at the age of 89. --This text refers to the Board book edition. "

Age Range: 4 - 8 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 3
Lexile Measure: 210L

[Dagmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like Leo Lionni. For those who are critical of the book, maybe they're asking or expecting a little too much from this book. In my opinion, this is sweet book about friendship and family. It uses color mixing, yes, but I don't see this as the point of the book or even a great teaching book. Like another reviewer, I don't see the connection to diversity.

It's just a nice preschool book that young children can relate to and can enjoy. There is pre-school level suspense when little blue and little yellow's families don't recognize them and then the happiness of discovering each other again. A wonderful book that is always a big success as a read aloud with my young students. Enjoy.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this is a classic, but I had never read it. I requested this book because I thought it might be good to add to our choices for "art/colors/painting" in storytime. I appreciated what the book was trying to do, but didn't think it would work for our purposes. I accidentally brought it home instead of sending it back and my 4 year old wanted to read it. I thought it was quite outdated and kind of weird (it's 50 years old) and didn't think he'd like it much. He actually really enjoyed it! He will still talk about colors "hugging" and what colors they would produce. So, I was going to rate this a 2, but I will bump it up to a 3 - cause really, what do I know? :)

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I liked the illustrations. I loved how they were so simple. And that I could have drawn them myself! But I think a young child would definitely follow. Plus it leaves plenty of room for imagination to take over. The story wasn't too bad either. But the whole "became green" thing seemed a little odd to me. I know it's me, but still. Odd.

[stephanie sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was read this book when I was younger and it is so magical and makes you smile. I love this book because it opens a wholenother world of art and colors and brings magic to the reader. I would recommend this book to anyone that is obsessed with colors this is really great and the story behind it..... perfection!

[Anna Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Leo Lionni's best work, in my opinion. Memorable and minimalist, but with a story children will love as much as they will love seeing how blue and yellow combine to make green. Where "Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse" is a bit out there and "Frederick" poeticizes, "Little Blue and Little Yellow" strikes a chord of simplicity that is pure perfection.

[Nayla Feghaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un coup de coeur!! Petit-bleu et petit-jaune convient aux enfants à tous les âges. Les illustrations sont très sympa, les enfants apprendront les couleurs primaires et secondaires. Mais le livre aborde aussi plusieurs thèmes tels que l’amitié, la différence, l’inclusion... bien que ce livre contient un nombre limité de pages et de mots, ce petit ouvrage est très riche et très significatif

[Codie Gates · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Little Blue and Little Yellow share a harmless hug and turn into......GREEN! Their parents are upset until the little dots show them that it is ok.

I think this book is a symbol for diversity. I would use it in any grade level to address diversity issues.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2016...