Serfozo, Mary. Who Said Red?. Illustrated by Keiko Narahashi. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1988

As a young boy and his sister search their farm for his kite, they explore a rainbow of colors around them. The illustrations in this book are marvelous! Each page has varying shades of the color as it is being described. For example: "Slicker yellow, Sunshine yellow, Lemonade and daisy yellow." The words flow wonderfully as it is read aloud.Submitted by Barbara Shoemaker

Hoban, Tana. Is It Red? Is It Yellow? Is It Blue?. New York: Mulberry Books, 1978.

This is an ALA Notable book. It is illustrated with photographs which show children and familiar objects. At the bottom of the page there are circles of color corresponding to the predominant colors in the photo. Only the primary and secondary colors are shown here.Submitted by Barbara Shoemaker

Crews, Donald. Freight Train. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1978.

The freight train in this book has many colored cars. They are pictured individually and then as a unit moving along the track. There is a wonderful illustration depicting the fast moving train. The train's image is blurred to show the motion of the train. This book is a favorite of the children. It is also a Caldecott Honor book. Submitted by Barbara Shoemaker

Bang, Molly. Yellow Ball. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1991.

A yellow ball goes from the loving and secure arms of a child at play on the beach to the unmerciful and changing conditions of the vast sea. Its journey brings the yellow ball full circle, into the loving arms of a child from a land across the sea, who finds it washed up on the shore and brings it home. Molly Bang takes a simple object, a yellow ball, and through simple text and clever use of distance and space in the accompanying illustrations, relates a story of excitement, adventure, and security. Her use of bright shades of soft colors against dark and white backgrounds make the illustrations appealing. Yellow Ball is an enjoyable and endearing story for young children. No children's library should be without it. Submitted by Jane Pingelski

Aylesworth, Jim. Country Crossing. Illustrated by Ted Rand. Alladin Paperbacks, New York, 1991.

This book recreates the sights and sounds on a summer night as an old car drives through the country and is stopped at a crossing as a powerful freight train passes. The story builds as the sounds grow louder and the pictures become bolder until the freight train passes and only the nighttime noises are left. The effect of the sounds in the text and the impressionistic pictures is powerful. The pictures begin by setting a peaceful nighttime mood in the country. As the freight train approaches, the pictures become closer and bolder. The same effect is created in the text through the sounds that are written out. As the sounds get closer and louder, the text gets larger. The text and pictures create a wonderful sensory experience for children. Children will love to make the sounds themselves to help read the story. Submitted by Lynn Dorwaldt

Aylesworth, Jim. Old Black Fly. Illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1992.

The old black fly spends the day wreaking havoc throughout the house. He gets into the food, bothers the cat and dog, and annoys Gramma, Mama and Baby all in alphabetical order. He is a busy fly until he "zzz's" in front of Baby who flattens him with a piece of cake. This is an ABC story written in verse that children will love to repeat over and over again. Especially the line, "Shoo fly, shoo fly, shooo! The pictures beautifully illustrate the mess the fly is making all over the house with bright rainbow colors splattered across the pages. Submitted by Lynn Dorwaldt

Brown, Margaret Wise. The Noisy Book. Illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. Harper & Row, New York, 1939.

When Muffin, a little dog, got a cinder in his eye, the doctor put a bandage over his eyes. Now Muffin could not see, but he could hear. As Muffin travels from the doctor's office to home, he hears all the noises around him. When he hears a noise he doesn't recognize, he tries to guess what it is. This is a wonderful book about the senses. It allows children to make the sounds that muffin hears and also to answer questions about what makes sounds and what doesn't. The simple illustrations are created out of blocks of primary colors and provide a basic background for a story that focuses on sounds. Muffin appears on each page leading the reader through the book. This book will teach children to listen to what goes on in the world rather than just look. There is a series of books about Muffin and the sound he hears in the country, at the beach, in the summer, etc. Submitted by Lynn Dorwaldt

Kirk, David. Miss Spider's ABC. Scholastic Press, New York, 1998.

Now that the other insects are friends with Miss Spider, they want to have a surprise birthday party for her. This ABC book follows the insects preparations for the party in alphabetical order and ends with a big, colorful party. Each page contains only words which start with that letter, for example, "Bumblebees blow balloons." Once again, Kirk fills the pages with wonderfully bright colors and expressive little insects that will not only help children learn the alphabet, but also colors and insects. Submitted by Lynn Dorwaldt

• Who Said Red?: I love to take the children on a color hunt after reading this book. We collect, and then draw, objects of different colors and then make our own color books. The text is easily memorized and the children love to `reread' this book at independent reading time in the classroom. Barbara Shoemaker
• Is It Red? Is It Yellow? Is It Blue?: The children love to find and name the colors and objects in the picture. They also love to make up stories for the pictures and we sometimes write them down. I buy colored circle stickers and we put them underneath illustrations or photos the children bring in. Barbara Shoemaker
• Freight Train: I've used this book to discuss colors and have had the children sequence paper cars to match the illustration on the center page of the book. The children also noticed that if you fully open the book, the picture of the train runs across onto the back cover.Barbara Shoemaker
• Discuss the different types of artwork used in these books. Painting, drawing, computer art and photography. You can discuss the basic concepts of color, line, texture and medium. Children can discuss which they like best and why. Lynn Dorwaldt
• After reading The Noisy Book, and Country Crossing, have children close their eyes and listen to the noises around them. Then have them write a list of what they heard. Is there anything they heard that they couldn't identify? Lynn Dorwaldt
• After reading David Kirk's book, have children cut pictures of real insects out of magazines and make a counting book from them. Lynn Dorwaldt