Book picks similar to
Shapes and Colors by John Canty


picture-books
colors
picture-book
toddler

I Know a Wee Piggy


Kim Norman - 2012
    Upside down, piggy wallows in brown, but that's only the beginning of this cumulative, rhyming text. Soon, he's adding a rinse of red (tomatoes), a wash of white (milk), a pinch of pink (cotton candy), and many more. Can piggy be caught before he turns the whole fair upside down?With exuberant art by Henry Cole, this wild pig chase is a natural choice for teaching colors and begs to be read aloud.

Bear Sees Colors


Karma Wilson - 2014
    Explore colors with Bear in the first of a new concept picture book series from the New York Times bestselling creators of Bear Snores On.Colors, colors everywhere! Can you find colors just like Bear? Karma Wilson’s playful text and Jane Chapman’s adorable illustrations creatively introduce colors to the youngest Bear fans, who will delight in discovering a rainbow of fun.

My Crayons Talk


Patricia Hubbard - 1996
    Brian Karas celebrating how colors express themselves--and what they mean to a young girl.Colors, feelings, images, and words jostle and bounce off one another in this lively picture book, creating as much fun as any box of crayons has ever had.

White Is for Blueberry


George Shannon - 2005
    Is a blueberry blue?Is a crow black?Is fire yellow?Is snow white?If you think you know,then think --and look again!

Hey!: A Colorful Mystery


Kate Read - 2021
    Uh-oh! That's no cave at all, but the mouth of a whale!Ezra Jack Keats Illustrator Honor Award-winner Kate Read returns with a clever oceanic twist on the old telephone game starring a tiny pink fish and schools of brilliantly hued fish in a deep blue sea. As the chatter spreads, young readers will explore different varieties of sea animals, colors, and themes of gossip and unchecked claims. Perfect for interactive readalouds as well as for early childhood education units on colors, friendship, and marine life. Back matter includes an introduction to color theory.

Colors


Shelley Rotner - 2019
    The creator of the award-winning Shades of People offers a new concept book full of striking portraits of children from diverse backgrounds and brilliantly colored photographs.

Wow! Said the Owl


Tim Hopgood - 2009
    And what does she discover? A wow-worthy symphony of colors—from red butterflies to orange flowers, from white clouds to green leaves.This boisterous and bright book is the perfect read-aloud to savor with curious little owls everywhere who are exploring the world of colors for the first time.

Shape by Shape


Suse MacDonald - 2009
    I had round eyes… lots of sharp teeth… This new concept book from Caldecott Honor illustrator Suse MacDonald is sure to entertain children. As readers turn the brightly colored, die cut pages, shapes on each page come together to reveal a creature from long ago. Page by page, MacDonald’s bright, cut-paper, collage-style artwork transforms circles into eyes and triangles into scales until a familiar creature is revealed, with the aid of a large fold-out page, on the final spread. This 9 X 9 jacketed hardcover has die-cut cardstock pages.

Planting a Rainbow


Lois Ehlert - 1988
    Through brilliant, textured cut paper collages, the story follows the progress of a mother and daughter in their backyard as they plant bulbs, seeds, and seedlings and nurture their growth into flowers. Bold, spare text and dazzling illustrations will inspire readers to take a closer look at the natural world and maybe even start a garden of their own.

I Spy With My Little Eye


Edward Gibbs - 2011
    Peeking through the pages, children will be able to spot a different colored animal every time, and guess what it is using a simple, factual clue. Bold illustrations and die-cut holes will absorb young readers as they learn about colors and animal names.

Baby Shoes


Dashka Slater - 2006
    But he just can't resist stomping through puddles, squishing fallen plums, and dancing in fresh paint. It isn't long before those white, high-jumping, fast-running shoes are speckled and spotted with every color of the rainbow. Dashka Slater's delightful, rhythmic text and Hiroe Nakata's jaunty illustrations are the perfect match for this playful tale of fun, sun, and fabulous shoes!

Blue on Blue


Dianne White - 2014
    Discover the joys of a wild rainstorm in this poetic picture book, illustrated by a Caldecott Medalist.Join a farming family as they experience the full range of a thrilling seaside thunderstorm—from the wild wind and the very first drops; to the pouring, pouring rain; to the wonderful messy mud after the sun returns! With gentle, rhyming text and vivid artwork from a Caldecott Medal–winning illustrator, this sublime depiction of nature’s patterns turns a storm into a celebration.

Butterfly Butterfly: A Book of Colors


Petr Horáček - 2007
    But when will the radiant butterfly appear again? Petr Horácek uses his trademark saturated hues and simple shapes to create an enticing view of the world of colors — and a peekaboo look at the slow-paced life abuzz in the backyard garden.

Lemons Are Not Red


Laura Vaccaro Seeger - 2004
    Apples are red. Lemons are yellow. . . .Clever cutouts in the pages make a simple, original, and utterly beguiling introduction to color.Laura Vaccaro Seeger, whose The Hidden Alphabet dazzled critics and readers alike, introduces young children to color in this unique concept book with die cuts. The opening spread features a big, bright red lemon and the simple text, "Lemons are not RED." When the spread is turned an equally bright yellow lemon appears ("Lemons are YELLOW") across from a luscious red apple ("Apples are RED").And so it goes, from carrots that are not purple through reindeer that are not white, et al. The book ends with "The moon is not BLACK / The moon is SILVER / The night is BLACK / Good night! And the reader sees a tranquil night landscape and a house with the lights turned out.This title has Common Core connections.

The Whole Wide World and Me


Toni Yuly - 2019
    . .Like a cloud in the sky . . .So am I.Just as a pebble is part of a mountain, just as a wave is part of the sea, so, too, is every one of us part of something bigger. With bright collage illustrations and a simple, lyrical text, acclaimed author-illustrator Toni Yuly invites readers to celebrate our relationship to the natural world.