Lindsay Ward’s This Book Is Gray is a vibrant read

This Book Is Gray, by Lindsay Ward, Two Lions, Dec. 1, 2019, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 4-8)

Rainbows are an integral part of childhood. They expose kids to colors, and they’re lots of fun to find. But what about the other colors? The ones not so flashy? In This Book Is Gray the color gray takes matters into his own hands.

When the Primaries and Secondaries get together, they have a blast, but no matter how much he wants to help, Gray is always on the outside. So he decides to create his own project — an all-gray book.

It starts out well enough: “Once upon a time, there lived a wolf, a kitten, and a hippo…”  

Then the Primaries and Secondaries show up, and things go downhill fast. Gray’s book is just a little too dismal, too bleak and too gloomy for their taste. Chaos ensues on the way to the colors discovering how important they all are.

On its face, This Book Is Gray is a simple book about basic color concepts. It’s really a book within a book though, exploring friendship and acceptance, too.

This Book Is Gray is different than most picture books in that the story actually begins on the inside cover and carries through the Library of Congress and cover pages. Now, you don’t have to read those pages first, but it makes the book so much better by doing so. The back cover is a delight as well.

Reminiscent of How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow, by Monica Sweeney and Feronia Parker-Thomas, This Book Is Gray is fun to read aloud and explore as a family.