This short book charmed me from the very first page. Colour is something that is often taken for granted. You learn them at an early age, and they play a role in everything we do, from art pieces to made up stories to the shoes we choose to wear each day. As we grow older, colour still impacts our lives but we have long since stopped experiencing colour. It has become second nature and classified as secondary, trivial, inconsequential. We see colour every day and everywhere, but do we experience or truly engage with it. With this book, Bennett Young is gently reminding us of the experience of colour by provoking thought through these short prompts.
Though categorized as a children’s book, the clever ambiguity of each verse will stimulate engagement and imagination in all levels of readers. These short verses though simple in wording, contain enough nuance and outside the box references to stimulate conversation around colour and the emotions that it can imbue.
This book is rich with possibilities much like children are and that thesis is evident in the book’s very title. ‘Maybe’ is one of the most hopeful words in our vocabulary and indicative of children. Children possess an immeasurable propensity for nuance, ingenuity and hope, all descriptors of colour, thereby making the title of this book ‘Maybe Colours’ one of most profound titles I have encountered.
Diana Laitenen’s illustrations are the perfect foil to Bennett Young’s poetic format. They mimic children’s drawings but convey a finesse that elevates it to the same level as Bennett Young’s musings. The illustrations capture the many hues of each colour addressed. The verses are outside the box and the illustrations are just as imaginative, yet they fully possess recognizable features linked to a corresponding line in each verse. Laitenen’s illustrations, like the verses, were thoughtfully crafted to further conversation, imagination, and play.
Maybe colours may not comprise of playful characters, funny rhymes, or a plot per se, but it is a book that embraces the fact that children have a capacity to understand much more than they are given credit for.
This book will not only delight children, but it will stimulate conversation between the child and anyone reading to or along with that child. It will be a conversation full of expressions that will be mutually beneficial. For the young reader, it will further creativity and enable them to experience the many ways colour touches our lives, and for adults, it will be a reminder to slow down and re-engage with colour and life.
Maybe Colours is a thoughtful book that will have a far-reaching impact for those that choose to experience it and not just read it.
Pros:
- Engaging
- Imaginative
- Illustrations
Cons:
- NONE
Cover Score: 9.0/10
Book Score: 9.0/10
Get your book on Amazon
Review by The Reviewblr
Scribble's Worth 
Leave a comment