Kirkus Review

A cat explores colors on a busy day. Cat--a brown tabby--wakes up, stretches, and yawns as light beams in. Dotted lines trace Cat's footsteps as they exit the kitty door and explore outside their home. Cat stares at a red ladybug ("Cat likes red"). The page turn yields to a full double-page spread, painting an entire scene in a red wash. Readers can pick out multiple red objects in the background ("Red is nice"). The formula repeats as Cat moves to the next isolated color, yellow. Cat spots a bee ("Cat likes yellow"), and the page turn reveals a yellow-washed farm scene ("Yellow is nice"). Other colors include green, blue, pink, orange, and black--with black signifying nighttime as Cat sleeps ("Good night"). Comics creator Russo's first children's book makes good use of his expressive character-design skills. The simple text, consisting of 13 unique words, seven of which are colors, allows readers to focus on the detailed scenes and practice color recognition. White space serves as an effective palate cleanser between the full-color spreads as Cat moves from one color to the next, with the words for the colors on those pages printed in appropriately colored type. The cover gives nod to all the creatures--and colors--Cat will encounter on their adventure, further helping emerging readers make predictions. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 67% of actual size.) A colorful start for beginning readers. (Picture book/early reader. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.