Geeky Baby’s Guide to Colors
by Ruenna Jones, Josh Lewis (Illustrator)
DETAILS:
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Publication Date: September 21, 2023
Format: Board Book
Length: 26 pg.
Read Date: January 16, 2023
What’s Geeky Baby’s Guide to Colors About?
This is a book about colors illustrated with Geeky/Pop Culture illustrations (or inspired by pop culture things—for example, I don’t think some of the orange-masked faces are real superheroes).
There are pages about a White Wolf, a Gray Wizard, a Black Car (a ’67 Impala with a couple of men in the front seats), a Yellow (not golden) Lasso, and so on.
Let’s Talk about the Art for a Minute
This art is cute—in case you ever wondered if Legolas or T-Rex could look dangerous and “awww” worthy at the same time, Josh Lewis can answer that for you. All the colors pop—not just the color focused on in the drawing. All the illustrations are eye-catching and will bring a smile to the adult reading with a kid (or likely will entertain a kid flipping through the book solo).
There are a few images from the book on the Illustrator’s website.
How is it to Read Aloud?
So the reading part isn’t that engaging. It’s two words per page—color + item. But this isn’t a book about reading, it’s a book about exposing a child to colors, and helping them identify them. So the words are more prompts about what to talk about rather than reading.
So, I guess this question should be re-rephrased as “what’s this like to go through with a child?” And that answer would be it’s a lot of fun for a geeky adult who will enjoy the pictures for what they represent in Pop Culture.
Timing Is Important
If you ask me, this is a book to go through before a child is at the asking questions stage of life. As I was preparing to write this post, I started thinking about some of the conversations that could go really wrong with an inquisitive child.
Child: What happened to the White Wolf and its brothers, Grandpappy? Me: Well, um...er, it went to live on a farm where there was a lot of room for it to run around and play. Child: But they live near a forest already, why couldn't they stay with all the Stark children? Me: It's time for a nap.
or
Child: What do those men do in the Black Car, Grandpappy? Me: (forgetting to think about phrasing) They travel around and fighting angels and ganking demons, and... Child: Are you s'posed to be fighting angels? Me: No, that's not a good thing. Child: What's "ganking demons" mean? Me: Er, want some cookies? Let's not tell Mommy we had this chat, okay?
And so on. When they start getting inquisitive, it’s time for this book to be shelved out of sight.
So, what did I think about Geeky Baby’s Guide to Colors?
When my wife and I saw this, we only had to look at one or two pages to know we had to have this around for the Grandchild-to-be. I think it’ll be great to sit and look at with them while they learn colors or just to look at the pictures.
For the adult, there’s the nice feeling about introducing a child to some of these images, even if it’s only to get them embedded in a child’s subconscious. You’re never too young to learn about a sonic screwdriver or role-playing dice, anyway, right?
This is fun (in different ways) for young and old. I’m really looking forward to sharing this one with the Grandcritter.
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