Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* If you think of green well, which green are you thinking of? As Seeger shows in her latest beguiling picture book, green is a color that stretches the mind. On the forest green spread, a bunny meanders. Sharp little eyes will spot the cutouts of two leaves on a tree branch. Turn the page, and the leaf cuts have now become small fish on a sea-green spread. With each turn of the page, something becomes something else when viewed through the beautifully designed paper cuts: a night sky becomes a violet; a red barn becomes apples on a tree. The clever transformations extend to letters, too; on one page, Khaki is formed by the jungle fronds of the previous spread. Seeger often varies her artistic style; those expecting the simpler, childlike shapes found in the Dog and Bear books will find a lusher offering here. Water, fruit, forests, and ferns come alive, but although Seeger could have pushed her greens onto a predictable ecological pathway, she doesn't force an environmental message, letting the richness of the natural world speak for itself. Finally, after a white winter, spring comes: a boy plants, a girl gazes, and green, once more, sings its eternal song. This is a book for turning pages, pointing, looking, talking fun!--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Seeger's skill at creating simple yet wonderfully effective concept books, as well as her mastery of die-cuts that delight in unexpected and ingenious ways, are in full evidence in this salute to the color green. The gently rhymed verse consists entirely of two-word phrases and begins with a rundown of specific shades ("forest green/ sea green/ lime green/ pea green") before moving into more abstract directions. The turning point: "wacky green," paired with a portrait of a green-and-white zebra shown happily munching grass. Seeger paints thickly on a canvas backdrop that lends an appropriately organic feel, given the natural sources for many of the varieties of green. Throughout, die-cuts of various sizes, shapes, and quantities build surprising connections between adjoining spreads: the words khaki and jungle are hidden within the backgrounds of the other's spread, both made legible by the same rectangular window; a "slow green" inchworm becomes the hook on which hangs a "faded green" sign. There's even room for spreads about the absence of green (a stop sign is "never green"). Here's hoping subsequent color books from Seeger get the green light. Ages 2-6. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Just when it seems that there could not possibly be anything new to present about this trendy color, Seeger creates a tactile treat that yields surprise with every page turn. On a surface that brings its own nubby texture, the thickly applied oils produce luscious scenes, verdant and ripe. As the spreads open, whether the view is of a forest, a still life of limes, or a seascape, each one begs to be touched, and if the eye hasn't spotted the often cleverly concealed diecuts, the hand will find them. Thus the cutout leaves in the "forest green" landscape become the outlines of fish on the next page's "sea green." Sometimes words are disguised in a painting, so "jungle" (green), obvious when seen through the white frame next to a tiger, is camouflaged when the turn reveals Jackson Pollack-style drips across a lizard on the "khaki green" page. Some choices are "wacky": a green zebra. Others give pause; the stop sign is "never" green. The penultimate composition of a child planting a seedling is wordless, inviting listeners, propelled by the internal rhymes, to participate. The conclusion displays a massive trunk leading up to "forever green." Perfectly paced and visually exciting, this title introduces concepts, humor, and the joy of looking to young children; it represents picture book making at its very best.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Lemons Are Not Red (rev. 1/05) was a concept book about color, so you might think this offering on various shades of a single color would be simpler. But Seeger once again sets up a challenge for herself, adding a rhyming text, die cuts, and perhaps a story for those willing to look carefully for connections. On each spread, two words describe a scene painted in Seeger's signature thick impasto on canvas: "forest green / sea green / lime green / pea green," eventually leading to "all green / never green / no green / forever green." With a color as politically weighted as this one, what could have been a hit-'em-over-the-head message is instead left open-ended, allowing the book to work for very young children (for whom the "never green" red stop sign could be taken at face value) or for an older audience willing to speculate on ecological issues and sustainability. The die cuts add another level of complexity and playfulness. Just when we think we've worked out that each cut on a right-hand page shows the next shade of green, Seeger tricks us with "jungle green / khaki green" showing the words themselves through rectangular die cuts, each adjective camouflaged within the next or previous scene, just as the animals on those spreads are camouflaged within their habitats. There is one slight misalignment near the end of the book, but this detail is hard to fault in what is otherwise a triumph of artistic problem-solving. Is this the first in a series? We can only hope. lolly robinson(c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
(Picture book. 2-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
