The House of Four Seasons

The seasons have just changed here, though sometimes it takes a little while for the weather to catch up.  We have quite a few books about the changing seasons.  This one uniquely combines a lesson about color, and with these vintage illustrations what a way to learn about colors!

When a family moves into an old house they can't agree on what color to paint it.  At the old-fashioned hardware store they pick up red, yellow and blue paint.  Then they mix and learn and eventually pick something they all love.

          

 The House of Four Seasons

Rodger Duvoisin 1956

Hailstones and Halibut Bones

They make you feel

Every feeling there is

From the grumpiest grump

To the fizziest fizz.

And you and you and I 

Know well

Each has a taste 

And each has a smell

And each has a wonderful

Story to tell....

Hailstones and Halibut Bones

Mary O'Neil

illustrated by John Wallner 1989

Mary O'Neill has written a marvelous book about colors.  Each poem describes a color, weaving in all the senses in such clever and glorious ways.  We love reading this and talking about how the colors make us feel, or the things we think of when we think of a particular color.   Did O'Neil get her descriptions right?  

Gold is the sunshine 

Light and thin 

Warm as a muffin

 On your skin.

Brown is a freckle

Brown is a mole

Brown is the earth

When you dig a hole.

Brown is the hair 

On many a head

Brown is chocolate 

And gingerbread.

Brown is a feeling

You get inside

When wondering makes 

Your mind grow wide.

Brown is a leather shoe

And a good glove---

Brown is as comfortable

As love.

Orange is zip

Orange is dash

The brightest stripe

In a Roman sash.

Orange is an orange

Also a mango

Orange is music

Of the tango.

Orange is the fur

Of the fiery fox,

The brightest crayon

In the box.

And in the fall

When the leaves are turning

Orange is the smell

Of a bonfire burning...

Charlotte particularly agreed with this part from the Purple poem:

Purple's more popular 

Than you think...

It's sort of a great

Grandmother to pink.

The Day the Crayons Quit

Silly/funny books are always a big hit in my house (especially with Charlotte and Henry).  This one cracks us up.  All the crayons in the crayon box have written letters to Duncan, voicing their discontent.  Blue and Grey crayon are tired of coloring so much, Pink would like to be used more often for things like dinosaurs and cowboys, and Yellow and Orange are fighting over who should color the sun.  The funniest letter is from Peach crayon who has had his wrapper stripped off and doesn't appreciate being naked in the crayon box!  Oliver Jeffers' illustrations once again combine drawing and real life objects in a neat way.

 The Day the Crayons Quit

Drew Daywalt

illustrated by Oliver Jeffers 2013

Other books illustrated by Oliver Jeffers:

The Incredible Book Eating Boy

Mr.Rabbit and the Lovely Present

Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present

Charlotte Zolotow

pictures by Maurice Sendak 1962

Well, it's time for some bunny books. Here's an odd little story with soft illustrations by Maurice Sendak. The style of these pictures seems so different from his other books.

The story is about a little girl who wants to find a birthday present for her mother. She asks Mr. Rabbit for help and help her he does. They go through all the colors that the girl's mother likes and find the right sort of things to give her.

"I would like to give her something that she likes," said the little girl.

"Something that she likes is a good present," said Mr. Rabbit.

A Rainbow of My Own

A Rainbow of My Own

Don Freeman

It's the season of rain showers, spring storms and wet days. This book is a burst of color.

A little boy dons his yellow raincoat and goes in search of a rainbow. He imagines what it would be like to play with the stream of colors but he's in for a sunny surprise when he gets home.