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NO ONE OWNS THE COLORS

Name: NO ONE OWNS THE COLORS
Author: Gianna Davy
ISBN: 978-1-951412-96-8

by Gianna Davy ; illustrated by Brenda Rodriguez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2023

A less than successful effort to get readers rethinking assumptions about colors; look at a nice rainbow instead.

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A rhyming text about colors and genders.

“If pink is for girls,” this book begins, “then it’s also for squirrels, because no one owns the colors.” The following assertion, “They say blue is for boys? / Well that just annoys, / because no one owns the colors,” sets up 28 similar pages, explaining how colors ranging from chartreuse to mocha to fuchsia all exist in nature but not within strict human gender binaries. Children are provided with scripts for how to respond if anyone tries to convince them otherwise, but it’s cringe-inducing to imagine a young person responding to a bully with “Do ocean waves argue / with sky over blue? Do chameleons have / only one color to use? Does red avoid yellow / and try not to touch? Or do they unite to make / neon orange crush!” or with “The trees and the frogs / and the blue ocean spray, / they all share their colors, / the dark ones and light, / and so do the rainbows / that dress the sky bright.” The unceasingly chipper tone, faulty meter, and relentless march of colors make this an exhausting read-aloud and, if shared among children with no preconceived notions about colors and gender, might even introduce bias rather than remove it. Rodriguez’s illustrations center on a tan-skinned child; other characters are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A less than successful effort to get readers rethinking assumptions about colors; look at a nice rainbow instead. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-951412-96-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: The Collective Book Studio

Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW DO I WONDER?
by Gianna Davy ; illustrated by Brenda Rodriguez

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK LOST AND FOUND

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 2026

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed.

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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toad and Little Blue Truck get ready for a hayride.

After the titular vehicle is loaded with hay, Toad is nowhere to be found. “Beep! Beep! Beep! Where are you, Toad?” asks Little Blue Truck. All the barnyard animals look for him. Sheep searches the meadow. Goose and Duck check the pond. Others pitch in, too, but Toad seems to have disappeared…until Hen hears snoring coming from the pile of hay in the back of Little Blue Truck. Although the text’s scansion is imperfect in places (adults may want to pre-read to ensure a smooth read-aloud), the bouncy meter and rhyming text nevertheless capture the energy of the search and the farmyard community’s concern for Toad’s safety, making this a solid storytime choice. Eye-catching illustrations with rich, fully saturated colors balance the right level of detail while still highlighting the animal that is the focus of each verse. By introducing one farm animal at a time, Schertle also helps the youngest readers begin to identify barnyard animals by name and understand their unique farm homes. Traditional animal sounds are part of the text, and listeners will add them to their vocabulary. It all ends with the promised hayride, bringing the tale to a joyous ending.

Fun times, fond friends, and a festive farmyard setting—little ones will be charmed. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2026

ISBN: 9780063436121

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)