289N: A kitchen full of copper pots boiling strawberry jam

Bethany, bethanyboster@yahoo.com

Seven years ago my (then) four year old daughter fell in love with a book from the library about colors.  She is now 11 and a budding artist. I would love to find this book for her. The details I remember are sparse but do make this book a standout:

gorgeous illustrations – no cartoon characters or paint blobs. One particular illustration stands out; on the pages that discuss red, they compare that color to a bright warm kitchen full of copper pots boiling strawberry jam.

text – the words were beautiful and evocative, not your run of the mill, “The tree is green.” With each color they created a detailed scene (both verbally and pictorially) to help the reader feel the color.

As I recall, they did all the colors of the rainbow, so words like “rainbow,” “prism” or “color” are likely candidates for the title.

8 thoughts on “289N: A kitchen full of copper pots boiling strawberry jam

    1. Bethany

      That wasn’t it. Thanks for the time and effort! It was a different pic. for every page, so more about colors than about jams and jellies.

      Reply
  1. Denise

    Was it Hailstones & Halibut Bones?

    It was one of my favorites growing up and I read it to my daughter’s 3rd grade class 8 years ago. They ended up doing a project where they created their own color poems. Beautiful book.

    Reply
    1. Bethany

      That is soooo close! If I can’t find the book I have in mind I will get Hailstones and Halibut Bones. Thank you for the suggestion!

      Reply
  2. Emily

    I think I remember this same book and I’ve been searching (fruitlessly) for it all morning. The page I remember is the orange or gold page. I think there was a lady inside (?) a flame, and the word “beckoned” was used. I remember because that was when I learned the word “beckoned” as a kid.

    The page you describe about red sounds so familiar, and I think it must be the same book. I agree that the illustrations were detailed and somehow both realistic and fanciful. The only helpful thing I can add is that it must be published before 2005 and probably before 2000, because I would have been too old for it by then. If I ever find it I will follow up!

    Reply

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