You Are a Burst of Color

Color becomes an emotional language in this empathic picture book that demonstrates how feelings “are as colorful as a rainbow and change all the time.” From the “dazzling white” of morning’s blank slate to evening’s “mysterious black,” first-person comparisons relate a day’s worth of feels, many loosely propelled by social interactions, while a mixture of pencil-gray drawings and semi-monochromatic scenes highlights each hue. First, the protagonist finds a friend and feels “tickled pink,” but when that pal joins with another, the speaker cascades through “puzzling purple,” “fiery red” anger, and more until a caregiver’s embrace conjures “a fresh, new blue.” The kaleidoscopic range of sentiments suggests that as feelings ebb and flow, each can be named and processed. The protagonist is portrayed with pale skin and dark hair; background characters are shown with various skin tones.
—Publishers Weekly


In this South Korean import, a child experiences a day full of big emotions, each represented by a color.
“Feelings are as colorful as a rainbow and change all the time.” An East Asian–presenting little one narrates the events of a day, from waking up (“The morning is dazzling white”) to going to bed (“Mysterious black looks forward to whatever tomorrow will bring”). The protagonist begins the morning “excited as bright yellow” and “curious as deep green.” Later, a new friend makes the youngster feel “tickled pink,” but when that friend plays with someone else, the child cycles through a “ruby red blaze,” “gloomy blue,” and “down-in-the-dumps gray.” The two or three sentences of poetic text on each page tell the story while also describing various feelings; at times, the writing is a bit awkward (perhaps due to translation issues), but no matter—Choi’s illustrations are the star of this book. The colors pop off the pages, perfectly rendering each emotion with a combination of realistic detail and surreal elements. A scene where the young narrator sings the praises of “optimistic orange” depicts a group of balloons floating above a beautifully detailed grayscale city, with the child riding astride the largest balloon, while a fiery red page features the child, eyes narrowed in anger, along with a gorgeous dragonlike creature composed of delicate flames and feathers fanned out in the background.
Arresting illustrations have a dramatic impact in this meditation on emotions.
—Kirkus Reviews