Swatch: The Girl Who Loved Color

I bought this book for Christmas for my 7-year-old, color-loving, artsy daughter. I was sure it would be a home run because she enjoys abstract art and can tell whole stories about what is going on in a Kandinsky painting. We read the story together and talked about the illustrations as usual. I was loving the book and I thought she was to. When we finished she said, "I don't like this book. I don't really get it." I was shocked. Granted the story is rather abstract so we read it again and I explained what I thought the author was saying.This is the story of a vibrant, fun-loving girl who is a "color tamer" and loves colors, all colors, even the rare ones like "in-between gray" that "lived on her kitten's leg." The colors loved her back. I explained to my daughter that to me this means that the girl is a talented artist and can make beautiful, rich art with vibrant colors. The colors make her art feel alive which is why the colors are given anthropomorphic qualities in this book. Then one day she decides to capture colors in glass jars and fills her room with them except for the elusive Yellowist Yellow. I explained that instead of mixing a perfect color when she was painting to achieve the look she wanted, the girl decides to mix many beautiful colors in jars and surrounds herself with them. The colors are now serving as the inspiration itself for her art. The colors are the art rather than just a means to the end in the art. Yellowist Yellow does not want to live in a jar though, so at the close of the book she releases all of her colors and they join her in creating a masterpiece led by Yellowist Yellow.Still after we finished the second time my daughter only begrudgingly gave the book a 3 star. I thought it was a 5-star book so we compromised with a 4 star. I guess the moral of this review is that even if you have a color-loving child, this book might not be as well-received as you think. Perhaps this book would be better for a younger child who can just take it on face value or an older child who has better developed abstract thinking. For a first-grader perhaps you should check it out of the library before taking the purchase plunge.

This book is beautiful! I run an outdoor exploration class in my neighborhood and the kids LOVED this book! After we read we used paints and I loved how this book seemed to get their creative juices going. It’s a magical, imaginative book. Whimsical and beautiful! Love it and will use it again next year’s class!

Normally, I wait on purchases to find a good price. This book was an exception. I just bought it after reading a review online. It is fabulous! It's an easy one to read aloud to kids. This book captures the essence of being an artist, or even a wannabe artist. My ten year old artist daughter loves it, and my six year old loves it. We have read it together many times in the few days I've had it. I'm not going to tell you the story line. It's better that way. If you love picture books and love color, this book is for you.

I bought this for my 6 year old, and she loved the illustrations. The story line is a bit too basic for older kids, but the illustrations are stunning.

This is my favorite picture book! Beautiful words, a courageous girl story, and amazing illustrations. Both of my daughters (3 and 6 years) love it too. We like to give it as a birthday gift to classmates with a pad of paper and watercolors.

My daughter and I read this book at least fifty times already and I am taking it to my granddaughter's pre-k class after Christmas to read it and do an activity. We love and recommend this book to any parents with creative children! Respect the color!

Wow! This is a great book to add to a child’s collection. It brings color to life!

My son(3) and I both love this book. The words with the artwork make me feel transported to a new world.

This book is one of the favourites in our house. Beautiful story, beautifully told, and beautifully illustrated —this book is truly children’s literature, not just another “children’s book.” The language is simple, yet sophisticated. The delicate prose roll off the tongue like soft, buttery poetry. The underlying messages and lessons are compassionate and wise. They come through clearly without the book being remotely preachy. My 7 year old daughter found this book at her school library and she liked it so much I bought a copy of our own. She loves the arts, and has always been fascinated by colour so I think it would’ve resonated with her at virtually any age. Had I found it when she was 4 to 6 we might have read it a zillion times. Being age 7 (grade 2) she’s less likely now to request the same books over and over and over and over. We’ve merely read it over and over.Her little sister (3.5 yrs old) is more ho-hum about the book but I expect she’ll like it more when she’s a little older, and more appreciative of books outside her near-obsession with animals. I’m guessing kids from kindergarten to grade 2 would like the book most, but I wouldn’t hesitate to curl up with a child older than that and share this book with them. I will buy another copy for an artist friend of mine who will love it, for sure. Might get another copy to donate to the local public library as well. Thank you Julia Denos for this lovely creation.

A beautiful book that connects well to a unit of study on colours. My students love the book! After reading it I had my students mix their own colours and put paint them onto images of jars, just like Swatch caught colours and put them into jars in the book.

Such a fantastic book and beautiful.