OUT OF THE BLUE

From red to violet, with the usual extras, Oram comes up with a dozen or so poems for each hue, grouped across several spreads with McKee's lively illustrations featuring appropriate colors and cleverly incorporating characters and text. The poems elaborate twists on familiar phrases (``Two Redheads Are Better Than One'') or go off on tangents from well-known maxims. ``Red Giants and Red Dwarfs,'' ``Song of the Carnivore,'' and ``Embarrassment'' round out a group that includes ``Red Tape'' and ``Red Herring''; violet wins the prize for verbal variety with ``lilac,'' ``puce,'' ``lavender,'' ``mauve,'' and more, including ``Mulberry Bush,'' one of several traditional inclusions. The conception effectively celebrates the richness and variety of English, especially in this colorful vein. The verse is a bit uneven; it can lapse into doggerel or the commonplace, but more often it's amusingly deft. An inviting book, with enough comical surprises, satirical insights, and flashes of lyricism to keep readers reading. (Poetry/Picture book. 5-10)