30 Books to Celebrate Color! | Peace, Love, and First Grade

30 Books to Celebrate Color!

Another Summer Tuesday has rolled around again!
Flying, I'm telling you! Summer is flying!

With Tuesday, comes Book Talk Day!

I use a ton of books when teaching individual color!
Today, I'll share those with you!

This is a long one, friends!
We spend two weeks at the beginning of the year working with colors.
We devote one day to each color.
The kiddos love this, and so do I!

Here are my favorite books to use with Primary Colors!

The links take you to Amazon where you can look inside the books. 

Nonfiction Color Books by Sarah Schuette
If you have never seen this series of books, find them!
There are 10 books in the series, and the photographs are stunning!


Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell 
You can't leave him out of a list of books on the color red. He's Clifford!

The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
The precious wordless story of a girl who gets lost in a book.

 Red is Best by Kathy Stinson
Kelly's favorite color is red, and she tells why in this simple story.

Red is the Color of... by Tiffany Haisten
Tiffany dislikes her red hair,
and it's up to her mother to convince her that red is beautiful.


Red is a Dragon by Roseanne Thong
Although the title of this book is red, it's actually a book about finding colors around us. I could have added this one to my color list last week.

A Blue-Footed Booby Named Solly McBoo by Dwayne Magee 
This cute little bird has big blue feet, and he doesn't like them.
A great book for celebrating differences.


Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
I love Robert McCloskey!
In this sweet book, Sal and her mom are picking blueberries
while a mama bear and baby bear look for blueberries, too.


Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James
Emily writes to her teacher, Mr. Blueberry,
asking him for information about the whale she found in her pond.
A fun book to use in a letter writing unit, too.


Dandelion by Don Freeman
I use this book with yellow. I know others who use it with orange.
Either way, it's a great book about a precious lion who tries to be someone he's not. 

Children should not miss!


In My New Yellow Shirt by Eileen Spinelli
A little boy goes on many adventures in his new yellow shirt.
Perfect to use for creative writing.


Press Here by Herve Tullet
No plot here. Just press the yellow dot and see what happens.
Fun for kids to follow the colorful directions.



Here are my favorite books to use with Secondary Colors!



 Nonfiction Color Books by Sarah Schuette
Again, find this series if you've never seen it! You'll be hooked!

Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley
Ed Emberley is just super cool!
Watch as a monster appears and then disappears in this colorful book.

We love Emberley's drawing books, as well.


 Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
To me, Leo Lionni is like the intellectual children's author.
I love that about him!

Little Blue and Little Yellow change colors in this story. Kids love this one!


 Aminal by Lorna and Lecia Balian
In this story, a boy named Patrick describes the aminal he recently found.
This story works well when teaching about making visual pictures.
It's fun to have students draw the aminal according to the descriptions in the book,
then show them the actual aminal at the end.

 
Harold and the Purple Crayon
by Crockett Johnson

Harold goes on an imaginary adventure with his purple crayon.
After reading this book, see what your students can make with just one color.

 
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
by Kevin Henkes

If it's Kevin Henkes, it's got to be good, right??
Lilly's affection for her purple purse gets her into all kinds of trouble.
Henke at his best!

 
The Big Orange Splot
by D. Manus Pinkwater

Mr. Plumbean is a funky little guy who decorates his house around a big orange splot. My kiddos always love this one.

Mop Top by Don Freeman
Another classic from Don Freeman.
In this story, a little boy isn't excited about his first hair cut. 
The book calls his hair red. We know it's really orange. Love the warm colors in this book.

 Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
This is not really a book about color,
but the illustrations help tell the story of a tiger who wants his freedom.


Pink by Janet Holmes
This is the simple story of a very particular girl who loves pink.
 
Pinkalicious, Purplicious, and Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kann
The kid favorite stories about Pinkalicious and her colorful problems.


Here are my favorite books to use with Neutrals and Brown!


Nonfiction Color Books by Sarah Schuette and Michael Dahl
The last 3 books in the series are above.
I so wish for a Gray title in this series!


Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.
Bill Martin, Jr. is a genius, and all good teachers know to keep him in their classrooms. 
I have been through so many copies of this book. 
Can you say WELL LOVED??

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Another one from McCloskey. Gosh, I love classic children's lit!
The simple pencil illustrations in this story are perfect!
In my opinion, the neutrals really make the story!


Frederick by Leo Lionni
 Another one of Leo's books, and one of my favorites!
Frederick is a dreaming mouse among all the working mice getting ready for winter. When winter comes, though, Frederick has much to offer.

Olivia by Ian Falconer
Olivia, the pig, is just about one of my favorite characters!
She thinks she's beautiful in her tutu and believes her finger painting is better than the art at the museum!
Like Make Way for Ducklings, the pencil illustrations in Olivia truly tell the story. 


Ish by Peter H. Reynolds
Peter Reynolds has some very interesting books about art.
This is one of them.
Ish tells the story of a boy who finds his creativity with the help of his younger sister.


Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean
What more can I say? Kids love him, and teachers can't get the tune out of our heads! He's all about some color, though! Love his attitude!

Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
A sweet little white rabbit goes on an adventure.

365 Penguins by Jean-Luc Fromental
This is a fun over-sized book about a family of penguins that just keeps growing.
Love the simple illustrations for black and white day.


Harry, the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
I have loved Harry since I was a child!
He's a dog with spots and he gets into mischief! What's not to like??
There are several other books about Harry, and littles love them all!


Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews
Two skills-one book! Love that!
This is truly a counting book but lends itself to a fun art activity with colors and shapes.


Big Black Bear by Wong Herbert Yee
In this story, Big Black Bear needs to work on his manners
as he walks into a big brown house. Fun rhyming book.

WHEW! That's it, friends!
If you are still with me, Thanks so much!

I hope you found some books that made you smile!

If you have any to add to the list, please let me know in the comments below!



Next week, Alphabet Books!

All the links here are Amazon affiliate links, but these books are available on other sites, as well.