Living Color

Jenkins, Steve.  2007.  Living Color.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.  ISBN 054757682X

 

The book is an exploration of animals, using vibrantly rich colors, to encourage children to read.  Each page is divided into colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple and pink. The illustrations are done beautifully to showcase each animal.  The author complements the illustration by writing small facts about each animal.  There is a cohesive layout because pictures, colors and text are intertwined.  A small index of each animal can be located in the back of the book, along with additional facts. The headings are bolded, with the corresponding colors, to assist the reader into a different color palette.  Each page has factual information without cluttering the book.  A great example of learning about diversity, the author has created an educational book that is fun to read.

Excerpts

From School Library Journal

Bock, Lee. 2007. "Living Color." School Library Journal 53(10): 135.

"Cleverly organized around seven colors, including purple and pink, this book is jam-packed with visual and written information about scores of animals, Jenkins's signature vivid paper collages, startling in their detail and realism, have a sense of depth that was created by layering materials. "

From Horn Book Magazine

Auger, Tanya D. 2007. "Living Color." Horn Book Magazine 83( 5): 597-598.

"The book’s real highlight, though, is Jenkins’s cut-paper collage: his animals are dazzling—vibrantly colored and detailed."

 

From Publishers Weekly

2007. "Living Color." Publishers Weekly 254( 28): 164-165.

"The combination of easy-to-understand language and gorgeous illustrations makes this a prime choice for any young animal enthusiast's collection."

 

From Booklist

Mattson, Jennifer. 2007. "Living Color." Booklist 103(22): 70.

"From the pink fairy armadillo to the purple deep-sea dragonfish, readers will be fascinated by the panoply of critters that often seem the stuff of fairy lore, and educators will applaud the cleaver concept of presenting survival adaptations as a biological fashion show. "

 

From Kirkus Reviews

2007. "Living Color." Kirkus Reviews 75(10): 20.

"Collage artist Steve Jenkins continues his seemingly limitless exploration of the natural world with Living Color, an examination of the many uses of color in the animal kingdom."

 

Awards

2008 Orbis Pictus Recommended Books

Best Books of 2007 by Publishers Weekly

Booklist Editor's Choice

Connections

other Steve Jenkins books

 

Eye to Eye: How animals see the world ISBN 0547959079

The Animal Book: A collection of the fastest, fiercest, toughest, cleverest, shyest- and most surprising- Animals on Earth  ISBN 054755799X

Sisters and Brothers: Sibling relationship in the animal world  ISBN 0547727380

 

 

Activities for children

Ask children to research an animal from the book.

Ask children to draw and color a specific animal.

 

 

Personal Response

 

The book is a wonderful representation of an information book.  Children can learn about colors, animals and facts. I think the book helps children comprehend small facts about the animals without inundating them with information.  The book is easy to read and color coordinating pages allow children to understand diversity. I would highly recommend the book.