What Colour Is Love? (What Colour Is Love? - Linda Strachan)

Member Name: tb4ms

Product:	What Colour Is Love? - Linda Strachan
Date:	26/03/08 (98 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of colours and animals.

Disadvantages: None

This is a lovely book aimed at pre-school and Early Years children.

- The story -

This story is about a little elephant, referred to as 'small, smooth and grey' throughout the book, who wants to find out what colour love is and begins to ask different animals who are in his vicinity.

~ Old wrinkly Grandad asks if it could be green, but grass is green so love might be blue?
~ The little elephant then asks the tiger if love is blue and he responds with, since the sky is blue, perhaps love is yellow.
~ He then moves on to the lion and asks if yellow is the colour of love. The lion says "This hot sun is yellow - isn't love red?"

And so the story progresses with the little elephant asking different animals if the love is the colour that the previous animal suggested covering, white, pink and orange.... until by the end of the day he is exhausted, without a definite answer to his question, he decides to go back to his mother who answers:

" It's as dark as the night and as bright as the sun.
Imagine a colour and love is right there, love is every colour, everything, everywhere.
What colour is love? Every colour, all around...because nothing else matters when it's Love that you've found."

- Illustrations -

David Wojtowycz has produced some very vibrant, bold illustrations in this book, reflecting the colours that are referred to in the book which are great at capturing and holding very young children's attention.

- Educational Values -

~ Introduces a range of animals: tiger, lion, parrot, zebra, flamingo and elephant.
~ Looks at an assortment of colours which can be identified in the illustrations.

- About the author, Linda Strachan -

Born and raised in Scotland, Linda Strachan gained her first publishing contract in 1996 with Ginn and has since had more than 50 books published, the latest series being the Hamish McHaggis stories.

Linda Strachan has diversified and writes picture books, longer chapter books, fiction and non-fiction books as well as myths, legends and folk tales.

For more information visit her website, www.lindastrachan.co.uk which has links to the websites that sell her books as well as information about creative writing workshops that she runs for both children and adults.

- Price -

My paperback, ISBN: 0-7475-6355-1 was £5.99 but there are used and new ones on www.amazon.co.uk for just 1p!
The book is also available in hardcover, the cheapest of which I have found from the publishers at www.bloomsbury.com at £7.49 as opposed to the RRP of £10.99.

- My Verdict -

I'm a bit of a softie at heart and am very fond of how the little elephant's Mummy explains how love is all around. The children I have read this too don't get a 'lump in their throat' as I do, when reading it aloud, perhaps I am just too sentimental!
Nonetheless, the colours and animals appeal to them and their interest is held as well as an ability to discuss the very young's concept of love in the most basic form.

Summary: Tell me, what is love??