White Is for Blueberry (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) [Hardcover]

George Shannon (Author), Laura Dronzek (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)

Is a blueberry blue?

Is a crow black?

Is fire yellow?

Is snow white?

If you think you know,
then think --
and look again!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–If Georgia O'Keeffe had made a book for young children, it might have looked like this one. Close-ups of natural phenomenon in a vibrant palette combine with strategic pacing to undo the viewer's preconceptions about color. This creative duo has selected 10 images with which to stage their drama. The minimalist text appears in black ink, except for the words that name the colors; they are enlarged and color-coordinated. Thus, the opening page depicts a black crow, but the text reads, "Pink is for crow…." The page turn reveals a spread showing a nest of newborn birds and the conclusion: "…when it has just hatched from its egg." In like manner, author and artist pair purple and snow, blue and firelight, yellow and pine trees. The disconnect between the written hue and the initial object, combined with the elliptical construction, allows older children to guess and predict the outcomes and younger ones to be surprised. The bold, uncluttered scenes, rendered in acrylics, have a sweetness and strength that is quite pleasing to the eye. Easy to read and fun to share, this paean to the wonder of cycles and the rewards of close observation is the perfect prelude to a thoughtful excursion. Fans of Shannon and Dronzek would also enjoy titles such as Tana Hoban's Look! Look! Look! (HarperCollins, 1988; o.p.) and N. N. Charles's What Am I? Looking Through Shapes at Apples and Grapes (Scholastic, 1994).–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-K. Shannon challenges color associations that become ingrained in early life by using unusual combinations of words and images: "Pink is for crow," reads the text, which is illustrated with a painting of a glossy black bird. An explanation comes on the following spread: "When it has just hatched from its egg," accompanied by a picture of featherless pink nestlings. Subsequent spreads follow a similar pattern of contradiction and explanation: red poppies, for example, are black "when we take the time to look inside." The text is sometimes awkward: purple represents snow "when the snow is the shadow of us." But the rich hues and solid, uncomplicated shapes in the thickly brushed acrylic paintings extend the sense of visual delight and the mystery in the words. The format invites children to look with the eyes of an artist or a scientist, question preconceptions, and closely examine the actual world, where blueberries are, indeed, sometimes white. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (March 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006029275X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060292751
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,058,126 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

It feels as though I have always been wrapped in stories and books. My parents read to me, and I in turn read to younger brothers. Family economics meant we couldn't own many books, but going to the library was as common as going to the market. I still have the books I received as gifts. They include two "Little Golden Books" that were savored in childhood, and have served as talisman ever since. THE BUNNY BOOK by Patsy and Richard Scarry (1955) and RABBIT AND HIS FRIENDS by Richard Scarry (1953).

Like all children I created stories as part of play. And, like some children, I was soon identified as one who "days dreams too much." I began writing stories when they were given as assignments in elementary school. By seventh grade I was writing even when there was no assignment. My dream of making books became so vivid, I submitted my first "formal" picture book manuscript to a publisher when I was sixteen. Eleven more years of school, work, reading, writing and luck finally brought about LIZARD'S SONG, my first children's book to be accepted.

Looking back, it seems especially appropriate that LIZARD'S SONG was my first book. Even though I had been writing for years, I always felt everyone else's life held better ideas for stories than mine did. I thought there was nothing about me that was interesting enough to make a good story. But I finally learned what Lizard teaches Bear. My best stories come when I tell or sing about what makes my home. What I love. What I fear. Things that have happened to me, and things I hope will happen. Things I like about me. Things I dislike about me. Things I understand, and things that still confuse me. So even though I am not a lizard, squirrel, chicken or rabbit, when you read my books you'll find little bits of what my heart calls home.

Picture books have been my professional focus now for 40 years. Reading them. Writing them. Sharing them with children. Teaching workshops and classes on writing them. Oh yes, and buying them. Lots of them. And now, blogging about them, and helping other writers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 A Fun Book, Full of Surprises!, October 12, 2006

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: White Is for Blueberry (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) (Hardcover)

Other than that puzzling title, the book's cover doesn't even begin to hint at the clever premise of George Shannon's picture book. He wants to fool us, and kids love it when they think adults are wrong, or just trying to put one over on them. So you start to read: "PINK is for crow..." --and any child who has seen a crow knows this simply cannot be true. To increase the disbelief of the reader, Shannon obliges the reader with Laura Dronzek beautifully composed acrylic painting of a BLACK crow, right on the same page as his heretical proclamation.

However, "White is for Blueberry" is a page turner. You'll want to see what colorful tricks Shannon and Dronzek are trying to put over on you. It turns out that pink COULD be for crow, because that's its color "when it has just hatched from its egg. Dronzek's big, cinematic close-ups of the hungry (yawning?) baby birds makes for a compelling argument. By this time, your toddler has become more curious about these seemingly false statements, and will want to see just how they can be true. "Green is for turnip..." Oh, really? But a big purplish turnip (framed in green) is right in front of my eyes! Aha...it IS green, "when we see it in the farmer's field." A family of bunnies, soft and smooth, munches away at the turnip's green leaves, the purple turnip barely visible beneath them.

Each statement provokes the reader to disagree, or perhaps to try to figure out what Shannon will come up with next. While most won't get that "PURPLE is for snow...when the snow is the shadow of us" (and yes, that IS a poorly written line, the only one in the book), some might remember that fire CAN be blue...when it's "the fire at the tip of a [birthday] candlewick." ANd blueberries? A blueberry is white, "when the berry is still too young to pick. (Hence the bear on the cover, we see it walking through a blueberry (whiteberry?) smiling as it contemplates the goodies that await.

Shannon neatly sums up the whole question of perspective and point of view, something that the egocentric child may just be exploring: "It all depends on when we look...how near or far... outside...or in." Your little one may very well be inspired (with your help, perhaps) to think of his or her own color surprises. I wish the book had concluded with an invitation to think of your own color paradoxes, or perhaps a quiz with answers in the back. After Shannon's "It all depends..." conclusion, all we get is a small picture of a crow with a half-eaten red and white apple in its beak. While this corresponds with the previous apple pictures that illustrated the idea to look both "outside" or "in," it's a somewhat pedestrian and anticlimactic way to finish a very creative, fresh book. It's a joy to look at, and it's a subtle reminder that there's more than one way to look at things and people.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The bland illustrations detract from the beautiful message within..., January 13, 2011

By 

Andrew Ellington (I'm kind of everywhere) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: White Is for Blueberry (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) (Hardcover)

I'm kind of on the fence with this one. One the one hand I commend it for encouraging children to take a closer look at objects they may take for face value; but on the other hand I'm really put off by the illustrations, which are just too earthy to really be eye catching and engaging. Conceptually, I really like the idea of getting up close and personal with certain objects, causing children to think about what's around them; seeing things in a different light so-to-speak. The idea that a blueberry is white or a turnip is green or a crow is PINK is cool, and it's fun to watch your child try and guess HOW that object could be that color; but I just found the books presentation so dull and bland. Alas, not everything is perfect.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wasn't sure based on title, but loved it!, August 16, 2011

By 

E. Gorden (IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: White Is for Blueberry (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) (Hardcover)

You are probably saying (like I did) Blueberries aren't white! Well they are before they are ripe for picking. The book helps us to look at things from a fresh perspective. A crow is pink - well a baby crow is. A Leaves are red - in fall. You get the idea. It has few words & a simple picture, but I really liked how it helped us to look at things in a fresh perspective. Things aren't always black & white you know!