This is a cute book about the true color of things and how a green sky and white trees are not the correct colors.

The tag line on the back of the book says “Warning: Colors at Play” and that is exactly what a reader gets when they open the page. The tree is white and the cloud is green, and while that may seem odd, there is no changing it. Or is there. Are colors really what they should be, or can they be played with and be something new. This book was fun, engaging, and didn’t mind laughing at itself. It works in all the right ways.

I just didn't love this book. I tried it with several kids and it just fell flat. It had some great points, but needed more. Would work for a book and activity

This is a nonsense story. If this is intentional then it’s done an ok job but it’s not really something I’d add to my school bookshelf.

Kids will giggle at a white tree and a green cloud! No way that's not right. Who is making up these silly pictures? The book starts with two friends, a dog, and a kite... simple enough... then everything goes crazy as colours get all mixed up around them. Prominent people in the town try to figure out what's happening and try to fix it but it seems the colours have gone rogue and are having a psychedelic party! They are able to do amazing tricks and are having great fun.

The illustrations are retro style and the colour pallet is vibrant and bold. The whole vibe of the book is upbeat sporting its wacky, whimsical artwork. I highly recommend this book.

True Colors was an incredible book about how we have ascribed colors to everything in this world, but they don't always have to be that way. What a fun twist on colors, creating and thinking outside the box. The color palette and illustrations were incredible and I can see children loving this!

True Colors is a beautifully illustrated book. It is a fun book because of the illustrations, but I am afraid that the wording may be confusing for some children who are learning their colors and associating them with objects. I appreciate the author's creativity, but be prepared if children are confused. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this book. (This review is also on GoodReads.)

A fun concept with an emphasis on visual literacy, told through simple text and dazzling (though sometimes too complicated) pictures.

I loved the illustrations in this book, it was beautiful and original and the author seemed to be intentional with representation. The one thing by which I was put off was the “eyes”. In some illustrations there were many eyes, and I can see how younger children can be scared by this. That is my only caveat with the book’s illustrations.

This seems to be a book written in Portuguese and translated by the original publishing house, I wonder if portions of the message were lost in translation, in the sense of early reader ease of independent reading. Overall, I liked the simple sentences. And simply adored the message of the book – it empowers children to use their imagination and express themselves freely, even if goes “against” certain conventions. Especially with art, there is no right or wrong as each piece is a true expression of their artist – even if they are 2 or 10 years old!

I will be adding this book to my work library.

Thank you, Princeton Architectural Press, NetGalley and Gonçalo Viana for an advance copy of True Colors in exchange for my honest review.

#TrueColors #NetGalley

This book was not the best. The images were beautiful and colorful, but the story was lacking. Will a child understand the cheeky way this author is commenting on the illustrations? Probably not. They will understand the colors are wrong and there is silliness afoot, but the book doesn't play up the silliness or imagination which feels like a lost opportunity!

I love absurd and funny books. I was hopeful from the description that this book would fit within my range of humor and be one that I would be eager to share with my children. I'm left conflicted. On one hand, I found the illustrations engaging and the exploration of different ways colors can be imagined intriguing and entertaining. I loved the robot asking for patience while he/she recomputed the colors and made edits.

Then the book seemed to end suddenly. I am left wondering what message didn't translate or, to repeat the author's robot theme, compute correctly. There was an opportunity to continue playing with imagined color variations or to connect to actual exceptions to expected colored objects, but neither were explored.

The first half of the book was so engaging that it made the ending all the more disappointing as it didn't finish nearly as strong as it started.

The illustrations in this book were beautiful and I loved how quirky the concepts were. When the book started out, I was excited for all of the basic concepts in the language. Not only were colors and numbers repeated but there was also basic book language such as illustrator. I honestly wanted a little more from the book though. I felt like a lot more language could have been added into the second half of the book without it being too much.

I read this with my grandson. The artwork is magnificent. But . . . The accompanying text is not applicable to what I am guessing is the intended age group. Beautiful to look at but the message is muddy and incomplete.

A vibrant and funny book about the colors just being all wrong. I like a book that breaks the 4th wall and can pull you into the story. I think kids and parents alike will get a chuckle out of this book.

This was a fail for me – adding itself to the shelf where lie all the copious books for this age range that try to do something different with, well, with books, we have a meta look at how some things might not always be the colour they appear to be. And, er, that's it. I didn't think it had anything like the appealing narrative it might have had, even with the structure being multiple starts to a story by a colour-confused voice-over, and I didn't think the visual style added much pleasure either. One and a half stars from me.

This is so so cute. Absolutely colorful, fun, silly, and light-hearted... what a great read for children! I love the concept of the mixed-up colors and "horrible illustrator" and I know my kids will, too.