My Blue Is Happy

An ... interesting meditation on the resonance of color, for classroom or family sharing.

Readers and young listeners can have some good conversations about their own color perceptions after sharing this warm, deceptively simple concept book.

Blue is sad and red means angry, right? Not for a thoughtful girl who sees colors less conventionally than those around her. "Yellow is cheery.... Like the summer sun," the girl's mother tells her as they stand on opposite sides of a golden field. "But my yellow is worried," the girl reflects. "Like a wilting flower/ And a butterfly caught in a net." While the girl's father sees brown as "ordinary/ Like a plain paper bag," it's "special" for the girl; Chien (The Longest Night) paints her squeezing chocolate syrup all over her chocolate ice cream, eyes closed in delight. As debut author Young takes readers through nine colors, she gently introduces the idea of opposites and invites children to consider the different feelings colors can evoke. Working in acrylic, Chien easily keeps up with the story's shifting moods, showing how a gray rainstorm can be simultaneously cold (in the murky outdoors) and warm, as the girl curls up inside with her grandmother on a cozy armchair. Ages 3-7. Author's agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Aug.)

Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 1-3--In this engaging story, a little girl realizes that not everyone feels the same about colors. Her sister sees blue as sad and associates it with lonely songs. But the protagonist sees it as happy because it reminds her of her favorite jeans and the pool on a hot day. Dad says brown is ordinary like a paper bag but chocolate syrup is the association that the child makes. Art teachers will gravitate toward this upbeat title to let children begin to explore the importance of color. Chien's illustrations are appropriately vibrant and allow for the different interpretations that the text suggests. This idea of colors and the associations youngsters have about them is an interesting subject and would make for some great writing activities. How do you feel when you see red? How about violet or orange? Having children compare their notions of the same colors would make for some great conversations. This child knows her own mind and feelings and isn't about to have someone else's associations color her world. Use the story with Emma Dodd's Dog's Colorful Day (Dutton, 2001), Roseanne Thong's Red Is a Dragon (Chronicle, 2001), Ellen Stoll Walsh's Mouse Paint (Houghton Harcourt, 1989), and Jane Brocket's Ruby, Violet, Lime (Millbrook, 2012) to further explore color with children.--Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Young's plainly delivered, poetic text achieves a subtly conspiratorial tone, as the little girl establishes the specialness of brown chocolate syrup and gray's "curled-up kitten" coziness. ... An ... interesting meditation on the resonance of color, for classroom or family sharing.
—Kirkus Reviews 

The emotional statements about colors are effectively grounded in evocative, kid-oriented similes that add substance for listeners trying to make sense of the abstract relationship between colors and feelings. ... At the core of the narrative is the celebratory idea that people experience the world differently and that there is no end of possibilities in perspective, making this a remarkably useful text not only for color units but for exploring themes of community and the ways people are alike and different.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 

I love Jessica Young's MY BLUE IS HAPPY! I'm adding it to my list of must-have books to inspire creative thinking. Catia Chien's vivid art is delightful, while really driving home the book's much-needed message about thinking beyond stereotypes. Highly recommended not just for art teachers, but for any teacher or parent wanting to inspire children to think more creatively about color, art, and our world.
—Peter H. Reynolds

In this delightfully original picture book, author Jessica Young takes a fresh look at familiar colors, using them as the foundation for a story that celebrates individuality and the pleasures of living in a world informed by multiple perspectives.
—BookPage Children's Corner

Children ages 3 to 6 will love this rich rainbow book... Sad, happy, mad, or glad, the kaleidoscope of colors opens up infinite possibilites for seeing the world from other perspectives.
—Kiwi Magazine