Rusch, Elizabeth. All About Color. Elizabeth Goss, Illus. All About Noticing. Charlesbridge, 03/2024. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $17.99. 978-1-6235-4353-2. GRADES Kindergarten–3. ADDITIONAL.
In this follow-up to All About Nothing (2023), Rusch and Goss team up again to explore both the science and the emotions behind our experience of color. The book opens by telling us that “color doesn’t exist” and the concept that color doesn’t exist is further explained in the back matter for the readers who wish to dive deeper. The author and illustrator spend most of their time looking at the emotional resonance of colors—that they can be a signal or warning and that we can “see red” or “feel blue.” The papercut art is vibrant and rich. This is a book that could be put to use in an art class as well as in a class discussion around feelings and emotions. Children are illustrated with varied features and hair types; no one is depicted with natural skin tones, and instead the children are shown in vibrant greens, blues, reds, yellows, and purples.
Rachael Reiley—Hillcrest Elementary K–8 / Oakland Unified School District