FIND COLORS

Wife-and-husband team Shopsin and Fulford have done the impossible and reimagined the color concept book.

“We made you a colors book. It has no color: Hold up the pages and look through the shaped holes. You’ll find all the colors you need.” So begins the only text in the book, except for the directive to “FIND” the named, absent color on the double spreads. Each page includes a die-cut hole at the center that youngsters can hold up and peek through to find the specified color in their environs. The recto is white and the verso is black, which allows children to use either as the frame. A sun (a die-cut circle with die-cut lines radiating out) is in search of yellow, a rooster needs red, and a leaf requires green. After the usual subjects are out of the way, the project goes on to include less-common colors, like a trio of squiggly worms for pink, four paw prints for brown, a pair of sunglasses for black. The seek-and-find mission ends with a rainbow arc and the decree to “FIND COLORS.” Created in partnership with the Whitney Museum of American Art, this book would be an excellent companion for readers’ next gallery visits. The tough binding and sturdy pages will withstand robust interaction, but younger toddlers may need some adult help holding up the book due to its substantial weight.

Even though it is only black and white, it is infinitely creative and colorful.