Jennifer Mattson (Booklist, Nov. 1, 2003 (Vol. 100, No. 5))
The young African American narrator of this picture book spends a gloomy day with the blues; on the other hand, his energetic, ballet-crazy sister has a case of the pinks. Frame explores the spectrum of feelings, represented by different colors, that a sensitive little boy observes in himself and in others who live in his urban neighborhood. Cues in the artwork that can help children understand the emotions may occasionally be lost in Christie's sometimes dizzyingly askew compositions, but the vibrant palette and expressive characters perfectly reinforce the premise. Frame's soulful text describes each emotion with a flair for the telling detail (the father has "got the grays. . . . / The don't ask for a new skateboard till tomorrow grays"). At times, the author's free-associating can be a bit puzzling (the "straight shoelaces, coffee in the car grays"), but representing emotions with colors is an excellent way to introduce kids to metaphor. This will be a versatile tool for creative-writing units, too. Category: Books for the Young--Fiction. 2003, Tricycle, $14.95. K-Gr. 2.

Carolyn Mott Ford (Children's Literature)
If people can have the blues, why can't they have the reds or greens or oranges? Why, there's no reason at all, as a young boy discovers in this story about moods and feelings. One day he feels the blues, not the blues like "the broken skate board blues" or the "Monday morning" blues but the "go away, Mr. Sun, quit smilin' at him" blues. The next day he has the "make you want to be Somebody" greens and he hopes that he'll get the silvers. "The rocket-powered skateboard silvers!" Then his dad has "the lines between his eyes" grays, his sister has the "ballet after school" pinks and his friend has the "hair hangin' loose" indigos. Gramma's got the yellows, which is fine because that might mean she'll make raisin cookies but uh-oh, Mama's got the reds and that's never good. A fast moving book bursting with color and ending nicely, because the boy's family makes him feel "golden." 2003, Tricycle Press/Ten Speed Press, $14.95. Ages 4 to 8.

Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Our young narrator describes his feelings and those of his family in brief but vivid descriptions of colors, beginning with the more-than-traditional blues, which are “those deep down in my shoes blues.” Then he has the greens, the kind that “make you want to be Somebody.” It is “poor Daddy” who gets “the grays.” Sasha gets “the pinks” that make her dance and help him “catch the next bus.” Talis has “the indigos,” not the blues. Gram seems to be happy, for she has “the yellows.” And look out for Mama when she says she has “the reds!” “Tomorrow maybe it’ll be the silvers.” For he has the kind of family that makes him feel “like it’s all golden.” Christie effectively demonstrates the emotional content of colors as his double-page scenes tell their expressionistic story in the colors of the text. Settings are sparse, and just a few details are used to identify the neighborhood, like a boy on a bike, girls jumping rope, dad with his ticketed car, and more. Mainly large areas of solid acrylic and gouache paints get the narrator involved as the focus of the visual story. Even the endpages go from dark at the beginning to gold at the end. 2003, Tricycle Press/Ten Speed Press, $14.95. Ages 5 to 8.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2004)
Yesterday I had the blues...those deep down in my shoes blues...the hold a pillow, wish it was tomorrow blues." Jeron Ashford Frame's expressive picture book features an African American boy's inventive descriptions of many moods. The extended metaphors are marvelous displays of creative language use in a book that is accessible and appealing to younger children and a wonderful example of descriptive writing for older students as well. There is plenty of warmth and humor in both the text and R. Gregory Christie's vibrant, color-saturated illustrations. They show a loving family in which some days are clearly better than others for its various members. Sometimes laughter resides in the interplay between text and art, as in the picture accompanying the text, "Mama says she got the reds. Look out!" in which the boy and his sister have been caught jumping on the bed. Everyday recognizable moments-and feelings-are the foundation of this terrific volume. Highly Commended, 2004 Charlotte Zolotow Award CCBC categories: Picture Books for School-Aged Children. 2003, Tricycle Press, 32 pages, $14.95. Ages 5-10.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 16))
A young African-American boy uses the blues as a springboard to explore both his emotions and those of his family in this perfectly agreeable picture book. Using bluesy rhythms, newcomer Frame employs concrete language to create fresh, immediate images: "[I had the] hold a pillow, / wish it was tomorrow blues. / The kind of blues / make you wanna just / turn / down / the / volume." Christie's raw, expressive acrylic-and-gouache paintings place almost childishly rendered figures against deeply saturated full-bleed backgrounds, amplifying every emotional erg of the text. Modulating from yesterday's blues to today's greens, his father's grays, mother's reds, and sisters' pinks and indigos, the boy concludes that he's got "the kind of family makes you feel / like it's / all / golden." While extending the color metaphor nicely, this cheery conclusion does not do enough to incorporate the more negative grays and reds of his parents-nevertheless, the mood/color equation is one familiar to children-and this interpretation will strike a chord with its audience. 2003, Tricycle, $14.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 5 to 8. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, December 2003 (Vol. 57, No. 4))
The African-American boy narrator explains, "Yesterday I had the/ blues./ Not the rain on the sidewalk blues,/ or the broken skateboard blues, or the/ outgrew my favorite football jersey blues.// Not even the Monday mornin’/ cold cereal instead of pancakes blues./ Uh-uh,/ I had those deep down in my shoes blues,/ the go away, Mr. Sun, quit smilin’ at me blues." The kid-friendly, rhythmic verse utilizes familiar, everyday words in surprising combinations that make the featured emotions resonate as they’re described in terms of color. The dominant hue of each spread mirrors the sensibilities of the text: when "Sasha says she got the/ pinks./ The shiny tights,/ ballet after school,/ glitter on her cheeks pinks./ The where’s my butterfly/ hair clip? pinks," the rosy background suffuses all objects on the page. Christie’s acrylic and gouache illustrations are powerfully composed, the balance maintained by the juxtaposition of geometric shapes, diagonal lines, and color blocks. Figures bisect the compositions with a powerful angularity that makes them stand out from the background. This is a dramatic partnership of text and images with strong curricular uses, and it will give young readers and listeners a simple way to express feelings and emotions that may often leave them wordless. Review Code: R* -- Denotes books of special distinction. (c) Copyright 2003, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2003, Tricycle, 28p, $14.95. Ages 5-8 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2004)
A young boy recalls the previous day, when he felt blue, "those deep down in my shoes blues, the go away, Mr. Sun, quit smilin' at me blues." He tells about the rest of his family, including his father (who has the grays) and Mama with the reds ("Look out!"). The paintings show the lanky African-American boy, his family, and their respective emotional colors in a loose style in keeping with the jazzy beat of this story about feelings and family. Category: Picture Books. 2003, Tricycle, 32pp, $14.95. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.