Reviews
ooklist 7/1/05PreS. Following beginning concept books such as Alphabet,4dventure (2001) and Ten Little Fish (2004), this fourth title from the mother-son team team introduces basic colors with the neon-bright hues of the tropics. Bruce Wood''s dimensional, computer-generated artwork shows a tiny desert island-a rock, reafly-in the middle of a deep blue sea. The simple, cumulative text adds a new object, and a new color, with each spread: a green trfe, a brown nut, a purple parrot, and an orange butterfly all appear, before a white cloud turns gray, a storm drenches the rock, and a rainbow forms. This isn''t a necessary purchase, but the uncluttered spreads, brilliant colors, and tropical setting, populated with a few winsome creatures, will draw toddlers who are beginning to tackle the basics. - Gillian Engberg SLJ 8/05 WOOD, Audrey. The Deep Blue Sea: A Book of Colors. illus. by Bruce Wood. unpaged. Scholastic/Blue Sky. Sept. 2005. RTE $15.99. ISBN 0-439-75382-1. LC 2004020759. PreS-Gr 2-Sharply focused, vividly hued artwork makes this concept book a standout. On each full-bleed spread, the cumulative text introduces a new color: "There''s the sea, the deep blue sea" is followed by "There''s a rock, a red rock in the middle of the deep blue sea." As the pictures zoom in closer to the rock, readers see a green tree, brown nut, purple parrot, orange butterfly, etc. Then a white cloud turns to gray, the yellow sun disappears, and it begins to rain. The final pages show the rock and all of its colorful inhabitants encircled by a rainbow. The rhythmic text is enticing and reads aloud smoothly. There are enough surprises to hold listeners'' attention, and the language is simple enough for beginning readers. The digitally created illustrations are elegantly designed. Shadows and textures give the images a sense of movement. Children who look closely will see fish darting beneath the rippled sea, the reflection of the sun on the water''s surface, and the nuances of the palm tree''s trunk. Different shades of each hue are incorporated into the pictures, creating visual interest and showing youngsters that there are variations of colors. The words are printed in black, with the name of each color appearing in the appropriate hue. A real treat.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal KIRKUS 8/1 Awkward modeling mars the Photoshop-generated art of this otherwise slickly produced concept vehicle. The slender plotline opens with a calm blue sea, a blue sky and a small white cloud--into which a red rock, a green tree, a brown nut, a purple parrot and an orange butterfly are in turn introduced, subjected to a brief storm, then left again in tranquility. The sea, though, has a surface more like the top of a cloud layer than water, the rock seems to float over the tranquil water rather than emerge from it and the tree doesn''t look attached to anything either. Despite bright hues, bold graphics and a simple text that introduces sequencing as well as colors, this isn''t one of the Woods'' better efforts. (Picture book. 3-5) BCCB11/05 Ad 2-5 yrs The only thing that interrupts the endless expanse of teal sky over deep blue water is a fluffy white cloud creeping across the opening spreads. Suddenly "there's a rock, a red rock in the middle of the deep blue sea." From the rock springs "a tree, a green tree on a red rock in the middle of the deep blue sea." And so the cumulative text spins out as the lonely island sprouts a brown nut, hosts a purple parrot and an orange butterfly with a black spot, and basks under a yellow sun, until that white cloud arrives and turns gray. Bright fishies (three in primary colors, three in secondary, and the four remaining in black, white, brown, and gray) encircle the island while a storm plays out and a rainbow arches over the diminishing drizzle. Then as the sun set, ooklist 7/1/05PreS. Following beginning concept books such as Alphabet,4dventure (2001) and Ten Little Fish (2004), this fourth title from the mother-son team team introduces basic colors with the neon-bright hues of the tropics. Bruce Wood''s dimensional, computer-generated artwork shows a tiny desert island-a rock, reafly-in the middle of a deep blue sea. The simple, cumulative text adds a new object, and a new color, with each spread: a green trfe, a brown nut, a purple parrot, and an orange butterfly all appear, before a white cloud turns gray, a storm drenches the rock, and a rainbow forms. This isn''t a necessary purchase, but the uncluttered spreads, brilliant colors, and tropical setting, populated with a few winsome creatures, will draw toddlers who are beginning to tackle the basics. - Gillian Engberg SLJ 8/05 WOOD, Audrey. The Deep Blue Sea: A Book of Colors. illus. by Bruce Wood. unpaged. Scholastic/Blue Sky. Sept. 2005. RTE $15.99. ISBN 0-439-75382-1. LC 2004020759. PreS-Gr 2--Sharply focused, vividly hued artwork makes this concept book a standout. On each full-bleed spread, the cumulative text introduces a new color: There''s the sea, the deep blue sea" is followed by There''s a rock, a red rock in the middle of the deep blue sea." As the pictures zoom in closer to the rock, readers see a green tree, brown nut, purple parrot, orange butterfly, etc. Then a white cloud turns to gray, the yellow sun disappears, and it begins to rain. The final pages show the rock and all of its colorful inhabitants encircled by a rainbow. The rhythmic text is enticing and reads aloud smoothly. There are enough surprises to hold listeners'' attention, and the language is simple enough for beginning readers. The digitally created illustrations are elegantly designed. Shadows and textures give the images a sense of movement. Children who look closely will see fish darting beneath the rippled sea, the reflection of the sun on the water''s surface, and the nuances of the palm tree''s trunk. Different shades of each hue are incorporated into the pictures, creating visual interest and showing youngsters that there are variations of colors. The words are printed in black, with the name of each color appearing in the appropriate hue. A real treat.--Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal KIRKUS 8/1 Awkward modeling mars the Photoshop-generated art of this otherwise slickly produced concept vehicle. The slender plotline opens with a calm blue sea, a blue sky and a small white cloud—into which a red rock, a green tree, a brown nut, a purple parrot and an orange butterfly are in turn introduced, subjected to a brief storm, then left again in tranquility. The sea, though, has a surface more like the top of a cloud layer than water, the rock seems to float over the tranquil water rather than emerge from it and the tree doesn''t look attached to anything either. Despite bright hues, bold graphics and a simple text that introduces sequencing as well as colors, this isn''t one of the Woods'' better efforts. (Picture book. 3-5) BCCB11/05 Ad 2-5 yrs The only thing that interrupts the endless expanse of teal sky over deep blue water is a fluffy white cloud creeping across the opening spreads. Suddenly there's a rock, a red rock in the middle of the deep blue sea." From the rock springs a tree, a green tree on a red rock in the middle of the deep blue sea." And so the cumulative text spins out as the lonely island sprouts a brown nut, hosts a purple parrot and an orange butterfly with a black spot, and basks under a yellow sun, until that white cloud arrives and turns gray. Bright fishies (three in primary colors, three in secondary, and the four remaining in black, white, brown, and gray) encircle the island while a storm plays out and a rainbow arches over the diminishing drizzle. Then as the sun set
