What Colour Is The Sky?
by Laura Shallcrass
If I was expecting vibrant shades of blue and white, or pink and apricot, even purple, I was wrong.
The artwork is beautiful – bold and delicate – yes, definitely beautiful. But while the artwork is most pleasing, I am left confused.
So, to look at this book as a whole, it’s most attractive with its hard cover. But appealing to what age group? The writing is simple, the plot or intention perhaps not entirely suiting the simplicity of the writing.
We get to hedgehog, and I searched hard for what I expected the NZ hedgehog to look like. Is he the creature with the big ears and fluffy fur loosely curled beneath the branches of a tree? My expectation was of a spiny animal with almost unnoticeable ears, a white chin ruff, tightly curled into a ball.
Back to the sky colour. To me, it is sombre, muddy shades of blue-ish green. Again, the artwork is beautiful, and the clouds delightful.
So, for Ruru the sky is deepest blue - because it is night time and he is generally around at night time? This is clarified in the interesting Learning Notes at the end of the book, but perhaps could have been explained earlier. These notes are of interest particularly for me as I had no idea about the way each animal interprets colour and why.
But for a younger reader? This brings me back to the targeted audience.
When I asked a group what colour the sky was their replies were immediate and identical. Blue.
by Laura Shallcrass
If I was expecting vibrant shades of blue and white, or pink and apricot, even purple, I was wrong.
The artwork is beautiful – bold and delicate – yes, definitely beautiful. But while the artwork is most pleasing, I am left confused.
So, to look at this book as a whole, it’s most attractive with its hard cover. But appealing to what age group? The writing is simple, the plot or intention perhaps not entirely suiting the simplicity of the writing.
We get to hedgehog, and I searched hard for what I expected the NZ hedgehog to look like. Is he the creature with the big ears and fluffy fur loosely curled beneath the branches of a tree? My expectation was of a spiny animal with almost unnoticeable ears, a white chin ruff, tightly curled into a ball.
Back to the sky colour. To me, it is sombre, muddy shades of blue-ish green. Again, the artwork is beautiful, and the clouds delightful.
So, for Ruru the sky is deepest blue - because it is night time and he is generally around at night time? This is clarified in the interesting Learning Notes at the end of the book, but perhaps could have been explained earlier. These notes are of interest particularly for me as I had no idea about the way each animal interprets colour and why.
But for a younger reader? This brings me back to the targeted audience.
When I asked a group what colour the sky was their replies were immediate and identical. Blue.
Review by Susan Tarr
Title: What Colour is the Sky?
Author: Laura Shallcrass
Publisher: Beatnik Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9951423-3-6
RRP: $30
Available: bookshops
Author: Laura Shallcrass
Publisher: Beatnik Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9951423-3-6
RRP: $30
Available: bookshops
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