A Rainbow in Brown

by Pavonis Giron (Author) Pavonis Giron (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

Jo wants to paint all the wonderful things she loves. With a palette of red, yellow, and blue, Jo knows she can mix any colors together to create new ones.

Her imagination takes flight as she explores painting with primary and by mixing her own secondary colors, each picture as beautiful as the last. But through her exploration of the colors of the rainbow, Jo finds that her favorite is a combination of them all: brown.

With stunning artistry from debut author/illustrator Pavonis Giron comes an illuminating story of self-love through color theory.

Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

ALA/Booklist

Putting all those hues together results in Jo’s true favorite color, the beautiful brown she needs to paint her family, friends, and herself.

School Library Journal

Readers will think of rainbows in a whole new way after experiencing this imaginative book. Josephine is a young brown-skinned girl who is excited to experiment with paint colors. She starts with the basics (red, blue, and yellow) and proclaims each to be her favorite—that is, until real magic happens when she accidentally spills some orange paint into a bit of blue. "What was this beautiful, breathtaking color?"—a gorgeous shade of brown. Jo doesn't stop there; she mixes even more combinations of colors to get varying shades of brown, until she gets the perfect shade to paint a picture of her family, and ultimately, her own portrait. Exuberant pen, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations seem to burst from the page, and as the story progresses, Jo herself becomes part of the pictures, painting a swirl of brown breads, birds, and butterflies. Great for kids from preschool on, this is a fantastic book to use with lessons on color and art and a great conversation starter on skin color. VERDICT A joyful choice that explores color in a deeply personal way. Highly recommended.—Sue Morgan

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Pavonis Giron
As an author/illustrator of children's literature, Pavonis Giron creates with bold colors and a taste for exploration, whether that be in the great outdoors or between city blocks. The sun- bleached rocks and endless skyscapes of their childhood in the Mojave Desert continue to inspire their work. They are now currently based in Milwaukee with their partner and pets. A Rainbow in Brown is their debut picture book.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781250874368
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Henry Holt & Company
Publication date
March 05, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV003000 - Juvenile Fiction | Art & Architecture
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV009020 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Colors
Library of Congress categories
Artists
Colors
Brown

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!