Yellow Is My Color Star

“Which color is the queen for you?/ Yellow, orange, red, or blue?/ Purple? Green? Or maybe pink?/ Which is the best? What do you think?” For Horacek’s shaggy-haired, androgynous narrator, there’s no contest: “Green is great./ And pink is fun./ But yellow is my number one.” Every page is a celebration of the colors mentioned; for “Green is great,” the kid hangs from a tree branch over a spread thick with blue-green foliage, while the pink page sees the child falling onto a pile of striped and polka-dot pink pillows. Soon, other kids get in on the action, too, parading around in gowns and driving toy cars that reflect their own personal favorites. As Horacek (Good Night, Sleep Tight) delights in vivid crayon-box hues in her watercolors, she doesn’t ignore skin color—her cast of beak-nosed children represents a diversity of ethnic backgrounds (though her Asian child edges uncomfortably close to stereotype). It’s an enthusiastic ode to color, one that’s likely to prompt debates about which color truly is the “best by far.” Ages 4–8. (Jan.)