Colour the Stars. Taea nga Whetu by Dawn McMillan, illus. Keinyo White. Translation Ngaere Roberts. Pub. Scholastic, 2022.

The 10th anniversary edition of this classic picture book for everybody with Maori language translation and stunning new illustrations.

Isaac and Luke are friends but Luke is blind and has no understanding of what colours are. Isaac takes Luke on a walk so that he witnesses yellow of the sun, the green of a fern leaf, the brown of the earth, the red of blood from a stubbed toe and the blue of the sky.

Luke in turn teaches Isaac the sounds of nature because this is his world. “when you can’t see, you have to listen”. At night when it is black, Luke knows all about black, Isaac and Luke get to know what the stars look like. A sensitive and moving story.

Valuable not only as a story to describe difference between sighted and unsighted but also to appreciate the Maori language

The World Made a Rainbow by Michelle Robinson, illus. Emily Hamilton. Pub.Bloomsbury, 2021.

There will be many books written about Covid and it’s effects on people and the World but few will be as inspiring as this picture book from the UK in support of Save the Children.

“All the world had to stay home today. I wished that it didn’t. I wanted to play.“

These are the opening lines to this picture book and you know what it is all about already.

A small girl decides to make a rainbow to give hope and joy to everybody and to show that we have had bad times before and got over them and we will get over this.

She has problems and fun putting together ROY G BIV the colours of the rainbow on paper and hanging it in her window. But what a brilliant idea. Check it out for yourself

What’s In The Box? by David Minty.

What’s In The Box? by David Minty. Pub. mintybooks.co.nz   2019.

This is a picture book of discovery and imagination. Aren’t they all?

Two friends coloured yellow, one wearing a pirate hat, the other a hat with a pompom and long straps, find a box on the shore. They ponder what’s inside it their imaginations run wild.

Could it contain “a crab with wonky eyes” “an entrance to a tunnel full of turkeys” ‘a box full of treasure” or “penguins with rocket boosters”.

I am afraid it is none of these but there are visual clues on nearly every page as to what is inside the box. See if you can spot them.

Simple written text and simple expressive illustrations full of colour. An excellent second book to My New red Car also reviewed on this blog.

Nanny Mihi and the Rainbow by Melanie Drewery Illus. Tracy Duncan

Nanny Mihi and the Rainbow by Melanie Drewery Illus. Tracy Duncan. Pub. Oratia, 2019.

A reprint of this best selling picture book with all-new illustrations and printing.

Nanny Mihi has a whare (house) on the coast and every year her moko ma (grand children) visit her on their holidays. Nanny Mihi has them gathering different coloured shells, berries, flowers and other natural items and aligning them on the beach.

Each colour which reflects the colours of the rainbow is in Maori and English with a different colour collected on a different day of the weak. The days of the weak are also in Maori and English.

When a storm erodes their beach display Nanny Mihi tells the children that the Atua (gods) will repay in another way and after the storm sure enough a rainbow appears across the bay.

Lovely story and impressive illustrations that reflect the natural world and of course those expressive brown eyes of Nanny Mihi and the children.

My New Red Car by David Minty.

My New Red Car by David Minty. Pub. Mintybooks.co.nz, 2019.

I read this book the way I read all picture books. I blocked out the text and looked at the illustrations first to see what they told me.

From this I saw that it was about colours and particularly about red cars. There seemed to be a lot of red cars in a state of destruction or in precarious positions such as up a tree or flattened or in power lines. Then I saw a dinosaur like monster with the outline of a car stuck in it’s neck.

Then I read the text and it all came together. Yellow square has a red car which he wants to show to yellow square with goggles but it is missing. Where can it be? I think you can guess from the last paragraph.

They get the car back but it’s a bit smelly. I wonder why? But the yellow squares have suddenly turned brown when inside the red car. You work it out.

I enjoyed the mystery of the picture book and loved the way it used space. Simple text and bright colours. Go see for yourself

One Shoe, Two Shoes by Caryl Hart & Edward Underwood.

One Shoe, Two Shoes by Caryl Hart & Edward Underwood. Pub. Bloomsbury, 2018.

This well presented picture book is about Shoes, colours and numbers using rhyming text similar to Dr Seus’s one fish two fish red fish blue fish. Nothing wrong with that, makes it easy to read and remember.

Ten mice on a multi coloured pair of roller skates, you can count the mice and the colours of those appealing boots.

The shoes are brilliant, Jimmy Choo may be interested. There are many surprises from green pumps and starry party shoes to cowboy boots and shoes with long laces.

lots of fun for early readers and juniors. The illustrations are superb.

Look, a Butterfly by Yasunari Murakami.

Look, a Butterfly by Yasunari Murakami. Pub. Gecko Press, 2018.

A love of reading needs to be started early and this superb board book about colours is as good as it gets.

White butterfly flits and flutters in the blue sky and green grass. It stops on one colourful flower after another and they all open. Then it rests on a pussy cat and the cat wants to play.

Plenty here to fascinate a young reader with the colours and the shapes.

From the illustrator of 999 Tadpoles find a new Home also reviewed on this blog.

Big Box Little Box by Caryl Hart and Edward Underwood.

Big Box Little Box by Caryl Hart and Edward Underwood. Pub. Bloomsbury, 2017.

It is a pleasure to read a picture book with rhyming text where the rhyme is not forced or uses a made up word. The text flows from one box to another making it perfect for reading aloud to juniors.

Not only that it emphasises shapes, colours and uses that the box has besides the ones that the cat and later the mouse put them to.

” Brown box, Green Box, Yellow box ,black box, blue box, red box. Hey That’s not a bed box.”

The cat is inside most of the boxes with  a knowing look, until the mouse. Then a chase and a surprise ending. Read it and find out what it is.

Superbly paced, well written and set out, with the illustrations just perfect.

Just lovely