Pink is not a color

Pink has an identity crisis. When Pink (an anthropomorphic pink shape with stick arms and legs, wearing cowboy boots and a unicorn horn) hears about the Rainbow Extravaganza from the Primaries and the Secondaries, she wonders why she's never been involved before. "This is awkward," frets Orange as Pink confronts the fact that although the others don't mean to exclude her out of cruelty, she doesn't belong in the color spectrum. Pink departs and encounters a group of Tints. Next, color theory intertwines with narrative to teach readers about relationships between colors: Text spoken by Brown (who later identifies themselves as a Shade, or a color mixed with black) explains that Tints are colors mixed with white and that Pink belongs to that group along with Coral, Mint, Lavender, Buttercup, and Sky. Despite Brown's efforts, however, Pink is still having a "midcolor crisis," but then Gray, an achromatic color and the protagonist of Ward's earlier title This Book Is Gray, provides reassurance, saying, "Well, you're definitely a color in my book," cleverly alluding to Pink's cameo appearance in that picture book while also supporting her struggle to define herself in this one. With Gray's help, Pink embraces her Tint identity, saying, "I'm a happy color. And happiness is for everyone." Who could argue with that? Ward's cast of colors, pink-cheeked and wearing accessories, speak in color-coded speech bubbles; appropriately, pink hues dominate the exuberant art. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A rosy take on selfhood. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.