While it's not quite fall yet, the busy summer buzz seems to be coming to an end, and with it a sense that pumpkins, cider doughnuts, apple pies, and fall foliage will soon be in abundance. Bookstores also seem to be having the same thought as shelves are becoming packed with back to school/fall-themed books---which brings me to Colors of Nature by Kate Riggs (illustrated by Paolo Domeniconi). With bright, glossy pages of seasonal colors, children are introduced to: a green spring bursting with life along with pink and purple flowers. A blue summer with underwater creatures and a sky full of clouds. An orange and red fall filled with pumpkins and leaves, and a white and grey winter.
One of my favorite things about this book is the presence of the fantastical. I always like to think of books as avenues to far off places and Colors of Nature does just that. On every page a little boy and his orange tabby cat are seen exploring a larger than life world around them. From floating on lily pads to climbing up a vine of flowers, to traveling underwater, to watching clouds of rabbits hop across the sky, to being surrounded by a blanket of larger than life leaves, rising pumpkins, and a snowman the size of trees, children are presented with a sense of the wonder that comes from experiencing the seasons.
It may not be fall yet, but the blue pages of summer are about to turn.
