little blue and little yellow by Leo Lionni

I think I have mentioned once (or probably, numerous times) that I would really like to teach Kindergarten. I love little kids and the curriculum for that age. One of my favorite things ever to talk to kids about is color. It is such a tangible thing for children. They can see the difference between reds and blues and greens. They know that the sky is blue... but then ask them if it is always blue and they discover that it can morph into greys and purples, blacks and pinks. And every kid has a favorite color. It's hard to strike out with little kids when you're dealing with color. It's usually always a winner.

This book was definitely a winner for me. Looking at the cover, I expected a watered down depiction of how two colors, in this case blue and yellow, can combine to create new colors, green here. I was so excited that the book went way beyond factual descriptions. The first page introduces the reader to little blue, a little blue circle. He lives at home with his parents, and he loves playing with his best friend, little yellow. The personification of the colors is so clever. They literally become alive, little blue and little yellow forming green when their colors melt together in the midst of a hug. This story kind of sneaks in the factual information behind the facade of a story about friends. It is a great "head fake" book. The kids would read this book because it is an enjoyable story, but they are digesting factual information at the same time.

One thing that I thought was really cute but overlooked was the character naming. "Little blue" and "little yellow" were so incredibly simple. I realized today that they are perfect names for Kindergarten to first grade aged children. I was volunteering today and two little girls, one in Kindergarten, the other in first grade, wanted me to play haunted house with them. I was going to be a ghost, the Kindergartner a vampire, the first grader a werewolf. When asked what our names would be, the Kindergartner replied, "Little ghost, little vampire, and little werewolf." Perfect. The names were such a small detail in the book, yet they were entirely suitable for the age range. Text-to-life connection? Check.