Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors (Aladdin Picture Books) [Paperback]

E.L. Konigsburg (Author)

Book Description

Series: Aladdin Picture Books

What's Your Favorite color?

Samuel Todd likes colors, colors of all kinds. Colors are full of surprises: A pumpkin is all orange, but not all orange is a pumpkin. And if pink is supposed to be for little girls, why are boy flamingos just as pink as girl flamingos?

Most surprising of all is that -- even though all colors are great -- some of the best things have no color at all. After all, what color is a hug or a song?

As in Samuel Todd"s Book of Great Inventions, two-time Newbery Medalist E. L. Konigsburg gets inside the mind and heart of a little boy marveling at the world he lives in, and creates a fresh and perceptive look at everyday things.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the Newbery Medalist's first picture book, simple paintings--mostly of fruits, vegetables and animals--introduce colors to young readers. Accompanying each illustration are several lines of text, which range from the banal ("A pumpkin is all orange, but not all orange is a pumpkin.") to the more imaginative and humorous ("When you see a lot of gray shaped like an elephant, it is one."). The book's title seems to be little more than an indulgent device, since Todd, the author's grandson, is pictured on only four pages. In addition, children may wonder what makes these 11 colors "great": the selection is certainly from a standard spectrum. Considering the many similar books available on the topic, this Book of Great Colors falls short of being a great book of colors. Ages 2-5.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-K-- This color attribute (rather than identification) book has audience problems. The opening illustration, "A pumpkin is all orange" clearly shows a green stem, and literal-minded children will be quick to point this out. Accurately painted in full color, other foods such as egg yolks, pickles, spinach, and eggplant seem curious choices to demonstrate colors for an age group known for rigid food preferences. A multiracial group of children, each wearing different colored suspenders and different kinds of pants, underlines color variety and diversity: "Some things can be any great color." Paintings of Samuel Todd, Konigsburg's winsome grandson, appear in the opening and closing pages but do not lend much to the child appeal. An open-ended invitation to consider some of the best things that have no color, such as kisses, is followed by an off-putting "Wrong: Kisses are pink." Samuel Todd is shown with a big pink lipstick blot on his cheek, looking confused. Readers probably will be, too. A more focused color attribute book is Mary O'Neill's Hailstones and Halibut Bones (Doubleday, 1973), and a livelier one is Mary Serfozo's Who Said Red? (McElderry, 1988). --Susan Hepler, Arlington Public Library, VA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689832184
• ISBN-13: 978-0689832185
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,188,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

E. L. Konigsburg is the only author to have won the Newbery Medal and be runner-up in the same year. In 1968 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler won the Newbery Medal and Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth was named Newbery Honor Book. Almost thirty years later she won the Newbery Medal once again for The View From Saturday. She has also written and illustrated three picture books: Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors, Samuel Todd's Book of Great Inventions, and Amy Elizabeth Explores Bloomingdale's. In 2000 she wrote Silent to the Bone, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, among many other honors.

After completing her degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Konigsburg did graduate work in organic chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. For several years she taught science at a private girls' school. When the third of her three children started kindergarten, she began to write. She now lives on the beach in North Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Colors Everywhere, April 7, 2000

By 

Heather Jones (Charlottesville,VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samuel Todd's Book of Great Colors (Aladdin Picture Books) (Paperback)

What color is a pumkin? What foods are brown? Konigsburg answers these questions by exploring the world of colors through foods and living things. The exagerated pictures add to the fun of reading her book, and Konigsburg's choice of word placement gives a sense of suspense. She surprises the reader with every turn of the page. Konigsburg also expreses her humor through her choice of what objects will represent each color. Who would think of eggplants for the color purple or freckles for the color brown? Konigsburg also lends a moral to young readers when she says "Some things can be any great color, and some have no great color at all. Like hugs and kisses and songs. And they are some of the best things of all."

Konigsburg's childlike observations of the world will help keep young children excited as adult read the book as read-a-loud and will encourage children to look around their world searching for colors.