Pomelo Explores Color

In this small-format companion to Pomelo Begins to Grow, the eponymous pink elephant with a longer-than-average trunk investigates the subtleties of different shades of the same color. The “melancholy orange of autumn” causes Pomelo to gaze wistfully at a falling leaf, while “the true orange of an orange” is an ode to 1960s/1970s décor, with Pomelo enjoying orange juice in an Eero Aarnio ball chair atop a shag carpet. Some visual elements repeat: ripening strawberries are a “promising red” early on, but one that’s gone bad represents “the deflating gray of disappointment.” As if expertly parsing the unexpected emotions that colors evoke wasn’t enough, each one of Chaud’s understated and surreal vignettes could spawn a story of its own. Ages 3–up. (Oct.)