From School Library Journal
Gr 3-5-Although this book will likely find its home in craft sections, it is so much more than a project book. Initially, readers are invited to think about color in nature and the way it has been used by humans throughout history. The next few chapters each deal with a specific color and begin with a dramatic, full-page photo of objects or scenes that exemplify the featured hue. The facing page has smaller, but no less attractive photos, many of which show children of various ethnic backgrounds. The text discusses each color's traditional symbolism, its role in nature, and the type of mood it creates, and offers directions for two activities that utilize natural dyes made from berries, flowers, fruits, and vegetables, or other products available from the grocery store, garden, or field. The step-by-step, illustrated crafts encourage children to try many different types of media and techniques including dried flowers, leaves, yarn, drawing, tie-dying, printmaking, weaving, and collage. A separate section lists plants that yield dyes of various colors and includes directions for producing them. Some steps involve a stove or knife, and children are advised to seek adult help. Two final sections describe the use of dyes in various cultures and the nature of color itself. This is, indeed, a unique book.-Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Gr. 4-6, younger with adult help. Senisi, known for photo-illustrated titles such as
Just Kids: Visiting a Class for Children with Special Needs (1998), turns her camera on nature's colors in this crafts book. Full-color spreads with lovely photographs showing each color as it appears in nature give way to projects using natural dyes in the featured hue. Some of the author's remarks about color symbolism express esoteric opinions as fact: "Black, the color of rocks, means strength and seriousness," for example. Better are the straightforward activities, including printing with potatoes, leaves, and berries; pressing flowers; weaving; and creating collages. Many of the projects require adult assistance; the section on creating dyes is particularly complicated. Most of the required material will be available to urban and rural kids alike. An appended section delves into color composition and encourages children to think further about their own responses to color. An attractive selection for elementary-school art teachers and camp counselors.
Gillian EngbergCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
