OF COLORS AND THINGS

Photographs in each quadrant of a page—intersected by a cross in the photos' dominant color—will serve as springboard to discussion of color, shape, utility, similarity, and a multitude of other subjects. Hoban has selected objects as diverse as a pumpkin and a ribbon, a bath toy and an ear of corn, all intrinsically interesting to a preschooler; as grouped in her dazzling, clear, sharply focused photos, they fairly beg to be talked about. Best, there is more than one page per color and always one photo with more than one color on each page, inviting comparisons and leading nicely to the next page. . .and the next. Even the endpapers display an exciting parade of brightly colored objects to beckon the "reader." Though wordless, this beautifully designed, deceptively simple book demands verbal explanation: while the subjects are concrete, the familiar is blended with the unfamiliar in such a way as to stimulate both thought and conversation ("Yes, that's a brown dog. No, it's not real, it's ceramic"). Fine as a lap book or for sharing with a group; a treasure no library serving preschoolers should forgo.