Los Mejores Colores/Best Best Colors

by Eric Hoffman, Celeste Henriquez (Illustrations), Eida de la Vega (Translator)

With the help of his two mammas, Nate learns he can have more than one best color and one best friend. Includes activity and teaching ideas.

Genres: LGBT, Childrens, Spanish Literature, Picture Books, Family

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Chanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best, Best Colors is a story about a boy named Nate who is fascinated with all of the colors in the rainbow. One of his mothers’ are Caucasian and the other is African American as well as Nate. Throughout the story different things that he finds or receives that is a certain color he labels as his best, best color. He also labels his mothers and friends as the best, best people but is stumped because he thinks he only needs one. His mothers stress to him that all of the colors can be his best, best colors and that not one color is better than the other. They help Nate make a flag like the rainbow to use at the pride parade.I love how the book includes Spanish translations throughout!

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of my favorites out of my set of children's books. It involves a little boy trying to pick a favorite color and a favorite best friend. This little boy also happens to have two moms. In the end, he decides he can have more than one best friend, and more than one favorite color. The book shows a multiracial family, same-sex parents, and gay pride, (the parents hang up a flag for pride). This book is also in both English and Spanish.

This book related to my topic of families, and did a great job of showing a beautifully diverse family structure. This book is Realistic Fiction, and it is appropriate for early elementary ages (Kindergarten through Second Grade.

It met almost all of the requirements of a quality children's picture book. The story is interesting to children, it offers children a variety of things to think about and consider, it is age-appropriate and understandable for children, it includes a problem and a solution, it utilizes style and language that are appropriate for children and their interests, and it includes realistic and convincing characters. The illustrations were accurate in terms of setting, plot, and characters; they corresponded to the text; they would very well hold children's interest while the text was read, and they enhanced and added to the story. The book also did a fabulous job of considering cultural diversity. The characters represented a variety of culture groups, the audience was exposed to multiple perspectives and values, there were no negative stereotypes of the groups represented, the lifestyles of the characters were genuine and complex, the characters used speech that accurately represented their culture and oral traditions, the "good" characters reflect a variety of backgrounds, and there is diversity represented within culture groups. I am unsure whether the author and illustrator were part of the group represented, but if they are not it is clear that they had very genuine interactions with people that are, because the representation was accurate and positive.

[Elizabeth]

I like this book for teaching colors, as the illustrator does a nice job of filling the pages with the color of the moment.

The splotchy watercolor-with-lines art style didn't really do it for me, though -- I wanted it to be either softer or sharper, pick one but don't try to do both; and sometimes the character's facial expressions didn't seem to match the text well. (Also, does Nate have a sister who just literally never gets mentioned in the narrative despite the fact that she shows up in some illustrations?)

It's a nice message about how you don't have to pick a single favorite, but I felt that was undermined a little by the moms kicking off the story by asking Nate what his favorite color was.

I appreciated that the characters were a variety of ethnicities (and one of the characters was in a wheelchair -- though the fact that she was in the sandbox with her wheelchair nearby on one page and back in her wheelchair on the next with no adult intervention indicated was a slightly odd elision).

Given that the text is in both English and Spanish and both the text and the art take pains to represent a variety of diversity, I wish I knew whether the author considers himself a member of any of the represented groups.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good one to have in your classroom as it has the text in both English and Spanish. The book is about a boy named Nate who loves colors. He tries to have just one favorite, but his two mothers explaian that you do not have to have just one favorite friend, color, mom or anything. That everything is important for various reasons. Multicultural and LGBT. Also the back of the book has a note to parents, teachers and caregivers that is very informative and shares several good ideas for defeating stereotypes and societal preferences. The book has a message that would be good to share with kids of all ages, but is written at a level that I would put between first and third grade.
I did not care for the artwork, however.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to use for a lesson on letting students know it is okay to have more than one best friend or even more than one favorite item. We have choices and can embrace our choices in a positive way.

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

YAY, a book that's fully translated in both Spanish and English, with superb graphics, many ethnicities, and queer characters to boot. A must have.

[Dex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extra points for being bilingual AND LGBT, but the writing is flat,and the illustrations are not too good.

[Tammie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nate loves colors
Picking favorites not necessary
Beating stereotypes
Behaviors
English/ Spanish
Gr1-3

[Andrea Retana]

-It is Bilingual book.
-Teaches diversity .
- It is book that can be read to Pre-K - 1 grade students.

[Townsville Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in Townsville

[Shannon Kitchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story but the illustrations are really freaky, taking away from the story.

[Stephanie Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do i read it

[Savannah Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best, Best Colors/Los Mejores Colores is a realistic fiction children’s book. The story is endearing and heartwarming. The main character is Nate, a boy who lives with his two moms and his sister. He loves colors, but he can’t figure out which is his best, best color. This tough decision parallels with his struggle to determine his best, best mom and his best, best friend. He can’t decide on either and ends up having a dream that all the colors and his friends are fighting over which is the best, best to Nate. When he goes into the kitchen the next morning, his moms show him a rainbow flag that they got for the Pride Parade. Nate learns that he doesn’t have to choose one color, one mom, or one friend to be his best, best. He can love them all together. I think that not only is this book interesting to children due to its amazing and colorful illustrations, but it is also representative of many different groups. The story features characters who are black, white, and Asian. Nate even has a friend who is in a wheelchair. The inclusiveness of the characters makes this book a great choice when trying to showcase diversity. Although the storyline is simple and the characters aren’t particularly complex, I feel that the cultural inclusiveness cannot be overlooked. Not only is this book in English, but it also has Spanish text mirroring each passage. This opens up the story to a whole group of children who would have otherwise not been able to read it or make meaningful connections to it. The bilingualism initially drew me in to this book, but the content of the story has made me a fan!