Review by Booklist Review
The little pink elephant of Pomelo Begins to Grow (2011) returns in this small-trim book that introduces colors a whole lot of colors. Weighing in at 120 pages, this has whiz-bang repeat-read value, as Pomelo acts out each evocative color description, including, for example, eight highly exact shades of yellow. Some descriptions are to be expected: the infinite white of winter. Others, though, are delightfully off-color ( the always different yellow of wee-wee ); funny ( the breathtaking brown of Gigi Gigi's a snail, by the way); or just plain weird ( the experimental orange of experimental grass ). Idiosyncratic and rather mind-expanding.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this small-format companion to Pomelo Begins to Grow, the eponymous pink elephant with a longer-than-average trunk investigates the subtleties of different shades of the same color. The "melancholy orange of autumn" causes Pomelo to gaze wistfully at a falling leaf, while "the true orange of an orange" is an ode to 1960s/1970s decor, with Pomelo enjoying orange juice in an Eero Aarnio ball chair atop a shag carpet. Some visual elements repeat: ripening strawberries are a "promising red" early on, but one that's gone bad represents "the deflating gray of disappointment." As if expertly parsing the unexpected emotions that colors evoke wasn't enough, each one of Chaud's understated and surreal vignettes could spawn a story of its own. Ages 3-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-Pomelo is diminutive in stature, long in the nose, and the color of bubble gum. Here, he explores a surprising variety of colors. The text contains moments of brilliance in which color and emotion unite, as in the "explosive red of anger" or the "deflating gray of disappointment." Other comparisons, like the "mustard-yellow pang that goes up the nose" or the "speeding orange of shredded carrots," are somewhat obtuse. And the "always different yellow of wee-wee," while true, may strike readers as an odd choice. Chaud's use of perspective, expression, and color will entice readers to explore each page, but this book may be too peculiar to have mass appeal. Purchase where picture books about art and color are popular or for fans of Pomelo Begins to Grow (Enchanted Lion, 2011).-Jenna Boles, Washington-Centerville Public Library, OH (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 Kirkus Book Review
An unusual look at colors provides something for preschoolers and something more for older kids. Pomelo, a tiny elephant, initially appears integrated into a black-and-white checkerboard, his body black where the squares are white and vice versa. Wanting more, he becomes pink and "rediscovers" color in his garden environment. One sentence carries the text through 120 pages in this small, square volume, but that sentence never stretches thin. Each spread showcases an example of a single hue. Badescu places all the whites in a row, then the yellows, then the oranges, creating a calm neatness that holds things steady while the color examples bounce between conventional and complex. From familiar ("the glowing yellow of fireflies") to surprising ("the happy gray of rain"), from abstract ("the gray of things you can't quite remember") to concrete ("the green-gray of rot"), the sensibility's always whimsical. A subtle philosophical arc charts how "the promising red of ripening strawberries" becomes "the mysterious blue of dreams"--Pomelo dreams, in blue, of future strawberries--and then "the deflating gray of disappointment" as the fruit, crushingly, turns gray on the plant. Chaud's art is sweet, offbeat and eye-catching, even when oranges and carrots are darker than real life. While preschoolers dip in and out for fun, older kids could use these inventively expanded color definitions as inspiration in an art or English classroom. (Picture book. 3-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
