The poems for all the colors were really pretty! I have no idea how the athour wrote them.

This is a really neat poetry book that can be used in any grade level. I used it with fourth graders to teach descriptive writing and poetry but you could use it in the classroom in a variety of ways. It is full of poems on the different colors. The poems are very descriptive and have great comparisons and imagery. The illustrations are really nice as well. Kids would like it because kids like poetry and my students enjoyed it when I read the poem and had them guess which color it was about.

This book of poems by Mary O'Neill is very touching. Every poem is focused on a color but what makes these poems so unique is their connection to all the senses, not just sight. Mary successfully makes me taste, smell, feel, and of course see each of the colors in a new way. I would definitely recommend this book to any and everyone, no matter their age.

I can think of a ton of ways to use this book in my classroom. For the older grades, I would probably use it as an introduction to poetry. I would use this book to demonstrate that you can write poems about anything and that you can be as creative as you want. I would probably do a follow up activity where my students wrote their own 'color' poems. Even if you didn't have the time or standards needed to use this to 'teach' something in the classroom, I feel that it would make a great read aloud for the students to just enjoy.

My mother read these color poems to me as a child. Reading them is like comfort food. I love poetry because of her. My favorite poems is Black . . ."The sound of black is BOOM, BOOM, BOOM echoing in an empty room. Black is a feeling hard to explain, like suffering but without the pain. Think of what starlight and lamp light would lack, Diamonds and fireflies, if they couldn't lean against black."

This is a wonderful and vibrant book depicting, through poetry, 12 basic colors. It was first printed in 1961, but has been reprinted over and over since then. And it is no wonder why. The author takes us through these colors that we see everyday, but she helps us better recognize that "each has a taste, and each has a smell, and each has a wonderful story to tell..." I loved the simple but descriptive poetry and found myself changing what I thought my favorite color was based on each colors description. Accompanying the poetry are rich drawings that heighten the emotion felt with each poem. This would be a wonderful book to use for a poetry lesson or even a lesson on colors.

Sweet

Wonderful poetry!

My mom send me down to her shelves to grab some books for Ezra and I found this! I haven't seen it in ages but just seeing the cover brought back a flood of memories. This was my FAVORITE poetry book, I read it over and over. I loved the illustrations too! These are wonderful children's poems; they are easy to read aloud, the metaphors are simple easy to understand, and they all rhyme. (Who gets non-rhyming poetry as a kid?) I remember my favorite poem was White. I think now it's Purple.

(sample)
...Asters are purple,
There's purple ink.
Purple's more popular
Than you think....
It's sort of a great
Grandmother to pink.
...


or maybe Pink...
(sample)
...If you stand in an orchard
In the middle of Spring
And you don't make a sound
You can hear pink sing,
...

They are all great.

Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neil
Illustrated by John Wallner

This is a book of poetry about colors. I heard it recommended to explain color to blind people.
Each color gets two beautifully illustrated two page spreads. Purple, gold, black, brown, blue, gray, white, orange, red, pink, green, yellow.

Fun - and read this as part of my Senior Thesis work on the psychological aspects of color.

Every poem in this book revolves around a color and how those colors are linked to the five senses. For instance "Lonely rooms, Cold is blue, Flame from a welding torch too." Three lines all about the color blue and how it can vary. From a former art teacher's standpoint, this is an amazing way to introduce color theory and just exactly how much we are impacted by color. It extends far beyond sight into a subconscious level. Hailstones and Halibut Bones does just that!

Easily one of my most favorite poetry books. Colors described in thoughts and feelings. Awesome book.