Blue by Laura Vaccaro Seeger is simple and elegant  with just two words per spread. This book can be enjoyed on many levels. Children will like peeking through the various die-cuts, one per spread, and see the next shade of blue including berry blue, ocean blue, and midnight blue. There is also a touching story of a little boy and a puppy(baby blue). They grow older, and the dog dies (true blue, so blue). After a passage of time you see an older boy with a girl friend who has a dog (new blue). Seeger’s  textured acrylic on canvas illustrations add richness and depth. This is similar to Seeger’s earlier Green, but this new book is easier to follow as a story. Recommended for Cream of the Crop. Margy Soule, Coffin School, Brunswick

Elegant and deceptively simple, Blue by Laura Vaccaro Seeger explores the many shades of blue. With die-cut  illustrations, the story shows,  with only two words per spread, a child over the years enjoying a dog from puppy-hood (baby blue) to death/grief (true blue  .. so blue) and a new friend with a dog (new blue) years later.  The book invites discussions from multiple perspectives  such as seeing different blues all around us, the joys of having and losing a pet, the passage of time and seasons, and feeling different moods. Children on their own will enjoy looking for the various shapes and locations of the die-cut holes with blues peeking through the pages.  This book can stand alone or be used with Seeger’s Green. The textured artwork is Seeger’s characteristic thick acrylic paint on canvas. Recommended Cream of the Crop for preschool through first grade children.

Reviewed by Margy Soule, Coffin School, Brunswick, Maine