Cat's Colors by Airlie Anderson

While I thought the storyline was a little weak, especially at the end, I just loved the art so much that I'm going to happily recommend this book.

Soft brown and gray paw prints cross the lighter gray endpapers, which are followed by a set of endpapers with splashes of brilliant color. It all comes together with a little white cat, "doing gray-day things". Then, she decides to collect some colors. She gets a spot of green from the tree, a splash of red from the roses, a swirl of blue from the pond, and so on. Eventually she curls up with her colors to sleep and the next day...has a rainbow of kittens!

The simple story, perfect for toddlers, has some nice turns of phrase but the real draw for me is the art. I enjoyed Anderson's stylized pictures with their bold outlines in Momo and Snap and she once again uses simple forms along with the addition of splashes of color to create a visually pleasing landscape. It will not only work well to teach children about colors, but is a fun, sweet storytime choice that parents and children alike will enjoy.

Verdict: While there are many more classic "learn your color" titles, the art in this one is so pleasing that I would happily add it to the canon and heartily recommend adding it to your collections.

ISBN: 9781846437618; Published 2016 by Child's Play; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library