I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Sometimes, adults forget about simple things like what color the sky is and how different it can be each day; in this story, a young boy's teacher keeps trying to get him to color a blue sky on days when the sky isn't blue.

A book that insists throughout that it is about the sky, and what colour it is. Robert is always offered a blue crayon when tasked with, or when he volunteers to, paint the outside world and the skies he sees. But he never uses it because the sky is never blue – or it's not in the autumn when it's grey but still colourful, or when the winter greyness impacts everything, or when the spring sunset dazzles with redness. Yes, the book is supposed to be about that, and about how teachers can still learn from children, with their ability to break down uniform thinking. But clearly it's actually about thinking along colour lines. If the sky is often not blue, because there is just so much more to it, Robert is not always the colour he presents as – there is so much more about him, too.

Either that, and I read too much into it and this is a missed opportunity to talk about race and prejudice in a subtle and more clever way than many achieve. But I'm going to stick by my opinions, and flag this up as a clever little thing, with a richness it seemingly pretends not to recognise. So be the sky – don't be defined by how you look only at certain times. This looks a decent little affair, and the lesson – whether about the physics and science of light or about something deeper – is, well, lightly conveyed. A strong four stars.

Ok, at first I wasn’t sure about this book, but it ended up being so cute. I read it with my kids and they really want a copy of it for our collection, so we will be keeping our eyes open at our local bookstore.

This book is about finding your imagination later in life, with the help of a student who sees the world in a variety of colors. We loved it!

I absolutely love how simple yet meaningful this book is. It's possibly my favorite children's book at the moment. The story and illustrations both go hand-in-hand perfectly to create this gorgeous book. I'm in love with how the teacher grew to accept and understand her student's perspective and the pure innocence in her student's interpretation of the world around him. I couldn't recommend this book more, EVERY kid needs to read this, and it's something that will add value for adults too.

Luke really enjoyed reading this book. He liked guessing the colors that would be used. It was a great way for us to talk about how people see things differently and also how to find the beauty in everything. A really lovely kids book.

This is a beautiful story. It was impactful. It reminded me that things are not always as we think they are but sometimes they are so much bigger and deeper than just the visible color.

I thought this book was super cute and I would love to read it to my nephew (he'll be 4 in December), but I do think that the language could be simplified a decent amount. It was very wordy, which worked for me as an adult reader, but I think a lot of the language may go over a child's head or confuse them. I also started the book thinking the child was in kindergarten/1st grade (due to it being a children's picture book), but by the end he definitely seemed older and that sort of confused me as well, as if the child was also kind of talking like an adult.

Heartwarming, tearjerking slice-of-life intentionally and artfully set in a world and circumstance where Robert's creativity and Mrs. Murphy's empathy and acceptance for his imagination and herself(?) overlap. Adults may find this read to be a slow burn in the beginning yet as they read on and reach the end, pause for a bit as emotions swell up and suddenly their hearts break.

Incredibly healing and cathartic story with emotive use of colors, perhaps stopping one just to stare. Perfect for a deep dive in a book club, with a therapist, or even sharing with a trusted kitchen plant.

I loved this one! It sends a message of open-mindedness which is important for kids. I really liked the illustration style for this one, it complimented the story well. I also liked the diversity of the children within the drawings, it’s definitely important to include those details in kids books. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone with a young child!

This is the story of Robert, a child who’s talented at drawing colorful skies, and his teacher, who believes skies should be blue. Who will change their minds? This is left for you to read, I won’t spoil the story!

I really liked the idea behind this story and being a teacher myself I can really relate to Mrs. Murphy’s experience when she realizes she’s learnt a great lesson from one of her students!

Personally speaking, I felt that something was missing in the narrative and at times too many explanations were provided. However, I think this book is a great stimuli to be used in class to discuss personal opinions, different point of views and also the need for aesthetic experiences.

After having read **at least** two books published by Teacher Created Materials (an imprint of Free Spirit Publishing), I am now a huge fan of their picture books. Written by Joy Jones and illustrated by Sawyer Cloud, “The Sky is Not Blue” is a beautiful story about Robert, his teacher Mrs. Murphy, science, and most important of all, perspective.

Although I’m not an artist, I come from a family of painters, bronze sculptors, sketchers, and drawers and artists look at the world in a beautifully different way—they see in color. It was only when I began dabbling in painting (and I didn’t do it very well at all, by the way!) that I discovered all the different shades of green in a pine tree. This picture book really focuses on that.

Jones is a fantastic writer and I love how she masterfully told this story. Robert goes to school and, like my family, sees in color. He just doesn’t see a blue sky—he sees the gradations and the shades. His teacher, Mrs. Murphy, soon learns to re-remember this. It is a valuable lesson that she learned from her student.

The writing is so descriptive, reminding me of poetry. And the illustrations are right on mark as well. Cloud does more than just showing color; she reveals the huge diversity found in the world. I love Cloud’s art because in this story, she shows the MC Robert and his teacher Mrs. Murphy, who are both African American, but she also shows European Americans, Asian Americans, and other children—all with different skin colors on the spectrum. Cloud also chose to include a child in a wheelchair, which was an excellent decision and helps to ensure that disabled children are represented as well.

Besides the text, the book includes Q&A and interesting scientific information on the sky and its coloration. Overall, this is a beautiful and well written book and one that I hope will appear on bookshelves and in libraries everywhere!

I received an ARC of “The Sky is Not Blue” by Joy Jones from NetGalley, Teacher Created Materials, and Free Spirit Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Joy Jones’s The Sky Is Not Blue is a beautifully written and emotionally rich exploration of grief and hope. Through its evocative prose and thoughtful narrative, the book provides a compelling and reflective reading experience. It is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the enduring quest for light in the face of adversity.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I think this is a beautifully illustrated book, and love the message that we all need to view things from others perspectives some times. That said, my child just started kindergarten, and I am really glad we didn’t read this before she did. The book’s story is about how adults can be wrong and sometimes need the perspective of a child to see things in a new light. The teacher in this story is burnt out and overall really sad and discouraging to her students, repeatedly over the course of a YEAR crushing her students’ creative spirits. I am also really uncomfortable with the burden of changing/curing the teacher lies with the child rather than the adult in the situation.

This story was so beautifully written. The illustrations were equally beautiful. I loved that this book showed the positivity of a child and how a child can inspire an adult. Allowing an adult to see the world through the eyes of a child, as an adult you sometimes lose sight of the beauty and fun of the world around you.

I also enjoyed the disability rep in the illustrations of this book. It allows for other conversations with your children to take place

This was a beautifully written book. I really appreciate the story of a child who understands that there is always more than meets the eye and I love that in the end he was able to inspire the adult too. **I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers**

Wow this book was amazing! It wasn’t at all what I was expecting in the best way possible. The illustrations were perfect. If your child can’t read they can get the big idea of the book just looking at the page because the pictures told a story on their own. This book shows adults how children’s imagination works and how they see everything in a new light that as adults we tend to forget. Children are very outside the box thinkers and that gives us adults the freedom to be more creative because they inspire us. Reading books with characters that look like me as an adult is so important and gives me a sense of peace!

Thank you, Free Spirit Publishing, for the ARC.

It’s so true that teachers can learn so many things from their students specially kids who see everything everyday as something new to learn about.

The teacher is having a rough day at work and the kids doing their thing beings some new perspectives on things we take for as they are. But perspectives can change too for the better and this book just proves it!

Why is the sky not blue? But why does the sky have to be always blue?!

Love the concept and the illustrations too!

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this children's book

Read this to my mates little one as they were going to bed and when it come to the different colour of the sky, we had a little talk about how so many colours live in each day to guide us though bit also to show us how important each day is..

They loved this book as well as the one we read earlier, so I have told their mother about these books and she plans to buy them when they release, I do love how this book encouraged them to ask about the sky and colours etc, so this book has been educational to my mates little one.

I let her rate this one as well as the last one..... she said all the stars again

Thank you so much to Joy Jones and Netgalley for the early access to “The Sky is Not Blue.” This book was so sweet, and I loved the imagination of Robert and how he challenged his teacher to think outside of the box and use her imagination. I have a little boy, and I always want him to feel like he has the freedom to follow his dreams and passions, and let his imagination run wild! This book was a great reminder to stop and admire the beauty around us.

This book has a nice concept, but it also made the teacher seem like she was not very intelligent. Not a book that I would seek out for my children’s library.