Color [Hardcover]

Ruth Heller (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Demonstrates how artwork is reproduced from pictures to a printed page by taking readers through each step of the process, and includes a four-page acetate printer's proof and a sample of a finished work.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The prolific Heller's latest effort should tickle the fancy-and the palettes-of paint manufacturers everywhere. (And, oh yes, youngsters will be delighted, too.) This paean to pigment seems even more vibrant than Heller's earlier tomes. She leaves no color-producing instrument unexplored ("From pencils and markers and crayons and chalks.../ from paints in a tube.../ or a jar or a.../ box"), and appears to have outdone both Crayola and Joseph's celebrated coat in her range of sumptuous hues. Her examples of color combinations and printing are handsomely illustrated by four acetate overlays, as she ingeniously examines the color-printing technology in this book's manufacture ("The printers are/ some kinds of wizards,/ I think./ In miniscule [sic]/ dots they apply/ all the ink"). From its pictures of kids with painted faces, to its quartet of punchily plumed parrots, to an arresting optical illusion, this vigorous (if pricey) volume is splendidly splashy. Ages 7-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3?A rhyming text gives some general information about color, but is mostly geared to explaining the concept of commercial color printing?dots of yellow, magenta, cyan blue, and black blend to create the illusion of a full spectrum, etc. The rhyme is a bit for forced as it is broken up by pages illustrating concepts. Two sections of plastic overlays effectively demonstrate changes that occur when colors overlap/blend. The book is more visually appealing and fun than informative, and could be useful to children studying how a book is made.?Alexandra Marris, Rochester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (March 21, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399228152
• ISBN-13: 978-0399228155
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,690,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"Writing and illustrating my own books have given me the opportunity to choose subjects of interest to me."--Ruth HellerAfter receiving a fine arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley and completing two years of graduate work in design at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, Ruth Heller began her career designing wrapping paper, cocktail napkins, greeting cards, and coloring books. After five years of rejection and one complete revision, Heller's first book, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones, about egg-laying animals, was published in 1981. It was so successful that the sequel, and second book to be published, Animals Born Alive And Well (1982), about mammals, quickly followed. In 1983 and 1984, her third and fourth titles, The Reason For A Flower (about plants that have seeds and flowers) and Plants That Never Ever Bloom (about plants that do not) were published.She then began work on a collection of six books, the How To Hide series on camouflage and the magic of this phenomenon in nature, which covered the entire animal kingdom -- insects, birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and sea creatures. The next collection of books became a five-volume series on parts of speech: A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns; Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs; Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives; Merry-Go- Round: A Book About Nouns; and Up, Up and Away: A Book About Adverbs. She also wrote and illustrated the unique and fascinating book Color, a charming and instructive guide to how art goes through the four color printing process.Among the notable people who have had an influence on Heller's writing have been: Ogden Nash, Gilbert and Sullivan, Edward Lear, Hilaire Belloc, and Dr. Seuss. Heller says of her work, "All my books are nonfiction picture books in rhyme. I find writing in rhyme enjoyable and challenging, and I think it is an easy way for children to learn new facts and acquire a sophisticated vocabulary. Children are not intimidated by big words. I try to make my writing succinct and allow the illustrations to convey as much information as possible."On October 31, 1995, Grosset & Dunlap continues Heller's parts-of-speech books with the publication of Behind the Mask: A Book About Prepositions, a clever, thoughtful, eye-pleasing explanation of just how prepositions tell us about the "when" and "where" of things.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprising Read aloud, December 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Color (Paperback)

We read this book frequently in our Storytimes. The overlays demonstrate how the colors mix. The optical illusion, is more suited to one on one situations. We leave the book out after storytime so the children can try the illusion. One word of warning about the illusion, it will not work with children who are color blind. It took me 10 minutes to figure out why my red/green color blind cousin could not see the effect. :-P

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will inspire and delight young artists, November 12, 1999

By 

C. Carson (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Color (Hardcover)

My 6 1/2 year old daughter brought this book home from the school library, read it with dad and after that still rushed to find me and read it all again. Her delight as each concept unfolded was contagious. The use of overlays made the concepts of mixing colors and printing come alive and sparked her imagination. Each page was a new discovery. This self-avowed young artist said, "We've GOT to get this book, mama!" Congratulations to Ruth Heller for producing a non-fiction work that inspires and thrills the young.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Colour Theory for Kids, September 16, 2009

By 

D. Nelson "R" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Color (Paperback)

I had this book when I was a child, and would look through the vibrantly coloured pages with a sort of dazzled amusement. What I didn't realize then was that I was learning colour theory, tint and shade, and about CMYK printing... concepts which some people don't learn until high school or later... if ever! This book joined others like Hello Red Fox and Panda Bear's Paintbox in promoting my grasp of colour and my desire to create. Today I am a painter by trade, and I think it is in part because of an early start thanks to this book. It will give a leg-up to the young artists and creative thinkers in your life.