Blue vs. Yellow: A High-Concept Picture Book About the Color Battle for Kids

by Tom Sullivan

From Tom Sullivan, author-illustrator of I Used to Be a Fish, comes a high-concept picture book about a battle between primary colors, for fans of The Day the Crayons Quit, Red: A Crayon’s Story, and Mix It Up!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the Clash of the Colors!

BLUE VS. YELLOW!

Which one will be declared the best color of all?

Will they join forces and be mightier together?

Or . . . will another color challenge them for the title?

Ding! Ding! Let the battle begin!

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Art, Humor

48 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2017

About the author

Tom Sullivan is an author, illustrator, and graphic designer based in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied at the New England Institute of Art where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design.

After spending the first ten years of his career as a freelance Art Director and Designer, Tom switched gears to pursue his love of storytelling. He is the author and illustrator of the Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins picture books I Used To Be A Fish, BLUE vs. YELLOW, Out There and the graphic novel series Unsolved Case Files.

Reviews

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blue is an extremely popular color. Yellow, not so much. So, naturally, I was cheering for Yellow, the underdog. Who won? You can read the book and find out!

JK, they smashed together and made green. Pretty predictable, but still cute.

Pink gets no love, still, however.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love "Colors" as a storytime theme but my color savvy preschoolers can get a little bored...THIS BOOK IS A PERFECT SOLUTION. clever clever cleverness.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dude we are in a competition!!! Blue is sooooo much better than Yellow. Think of all the really cool stuff that Blue, I mean Yellow are. But if they are mixed together, they make....Green!!!! The pictures in this book are simple and cool looking, the story is fun to read and not too wordy. I love that, sad to say childrens books with too many words loose my interest pretty quickly. From a teaching stand point, it is great for teaching children about colors and what colors make what other colors. It is also great for teaching children that we all have really great things about ourselves and sometime we are even better with help from others.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever, funny, and interesting. Good illustrations.

[Beth Rodgers · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Blue vs. Yellow' by Tom Sullivan focused on the creative ways in which those two colors can be used, along with the ways in which they are both similar and different. The give and take between the two colors and how each felt it was best was written in a way that is reminiscent of a sibling rivalry. The colors each feel that they present the best options and have the most to offer. When they end up combined, they realize that there is also much to be enjoyed when they "work" together and turn everything green.

The book presents the idea that even though it may seem there are two sides to something, sometimes a mutual understanding can come about, resulting in a happy medium for everyone. Yet, the end of the book also brings another opinion into the mix, when the color red decides to show up and share everything it offers and why those aspects make it the best one overall. This is quite important, as it shows young readers that despite it sometimes seeming that there are only two options to choose from, or that an issue is "black or white," there are still shades of gray available. In the case of this book, "black or white" is equal to "blue" and "yellow," while the shades of gray come in the form of green and red.

An instructive look at what colors offer and what they are capable of, Sullivan has written an interesting story that is good for readers, whether young or older.

Beth Rodgers, Author of 'Freshman Fourteen' and 'Sweet Fifteen,' Young Adult Novels

[Elli Keefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read “Blue VS. Yellow” by Tom Sullivan. This picture book depicts a rivalry between the colors blue and yellow. It gives an abundant amount of examples of objects that are blue and yellow. The colors eventually combine and make green to teach the concept of primary colors and making new colors. I did not personally enjoy reading this book to myself; however, it could potentially be better when read aloud to young students learning their colors. My favorite page was where there are examples of all the different blue foods and yellow foods. These two pages could be used as a discussion point in the story to review foods that are blue and yellow and give students a chance to be involved in sharing their ideas as well. The illustrations are minimal and very simple. They are symmetrical with the words and put the words into picture form. I wish they were a little more in depth perhaps with different shades of blue/yellow. Overall, I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, but it could be put to better use with an interactive lesson plan. Students could split into two teams; one for blue and one for yellow, and practice their debate skills with evidence from the book.

[Dierdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to the clash of colors, Blue vs. Yellow. Each color contends it is the best color, so they each describe things of their color that make them better than the other, until the predictable, but fun, conclusion that green is really cool, as well. I loved the bold colors and the way the colors are compared, such as both describe feelings, food, music, animals, etc. This would lead to a nice discussion with children. Younger children can name the items and come up with other items of each particular color. Overall, a nice addition to our collection and will be used for storytime at my library.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is sure to be a read aloud hit with kindergarten and 1st grade students. Yellow and Blue are arguing about which is better. A fierce competition compares the different things each color can be. Until the two crash into each other and create, you guessed it, green. I wish that the author had played with green a bit more before wrapping up the story. And I hope that he follows up with a Red vs. Yellow and Red vs. Blue. Seriously. Kids and librarians would eat that up.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a cool book and I love the illustrations, but I felt like the ending was abrupt. I feel like the book would have been better if Red wasn't introduced or if we got more Red. Great concept though. I like how they introduced Green. Yellow and Blue were always fighting of who is better. Once they collided they realized they make green together and were delighted of how many awesome things are green.

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a Battle Royale for King of Colordom!

Yellow and Blue are prepared to duke it out to see which is THE BEST color. They list plenty of blue things, and plenty of yellow things, but is it possible that ALL COLORS are equally important? The author's illustrations are the real winner here.

[Bluevsyellow · Rating 5 out of 5]

this question really exhausted my mind who is the best blue or yellow actually I really like yellow but I find blue so mysterious why do people like blue what is that thing they see in blue and I cant see it for some of you will say it is just color what the important thing in this well I see that important to me :)

[Ersa S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like this book much. I'm not sure if it was because the characters were using the same examples for each arguement point, the lack of variety in examples, or that the climax of the colors clashing was very lack-luster. It just felt vey disappointing to read in the end and then to introduce a new color felt very out of place.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious book that works so well with my elementary art education degree. My kids adore this book. Two colors are bickering but end up deciding the world is truly a more beautiful place when they work together.

I think the only thing that would make it better is if the author had chosen to use different scripts for "yellow" and "blue" so it would be easier to read aloud with voices.

[Jess Verzello · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADORABLE. I love the clean illustrations and use of white space, the bold colors, and interactive concept for younger readers. My niece will love pointing out all of the different objects on each page.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blue and Yellow compete with each other claiming to be the best color until they crash into each other forming green. Together they are so much more than they are individually. But, their happiness is ruined by Red who claims to be the best!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of the Crayon will enjoy the color rivalry in this story. Lots of comparisons of things in the world that are various colors and a small amount of color mixing are involved, and the characters have vibrant personalities, as well.

[Kary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be a fun readaloud! I would have kids vote for their favorite, blue or yellow, then we could graph the results. Do some artwork with their chosen color, or do some color mixing. Lots of possibilities.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

12/13/2017 ~~ Blue and Yellow go head to head - which is better? Our youngest readers and listeners will enjoy perusing the illustrations to name blue and yellow (and red) objects. And ultimately, we decide, can yellow and blue be best when teaming up to create...green?!

[Frankie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Challenge of colors...blue vs. yellow! Fun book, great way to learn more about these two colors and what happens when they "crash" into each other...green! Then red shows up....perfect opportunity to talk about primary colors

[Buffie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story led to a deep discussion about why green didn’t become his own character, especially from the “green is my favorite color” club. Thank you to Tom Sullivan for reaching back to our students on Twitter. We can’t wait to see what’s next!

[Eileen Winfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

All my competitive little students will relate to the tension in this cute book (and probably pick sides). Fun, visually stimulating, and, while the middle is sort of predictable to an old curmudgeon like me, those early elementary school kids will love calling out the answer.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really charming. I'd love to have this in a color-themed story time.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so fun! I think kids will crack up.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful competition.

[Margaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

This makes the yellow/orange rivalry in The Day The Crayons Quit look like a walk in the park.

[MaryLibrarianOH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids learn about colors and the objects that are those colors. Combining colors and getting along.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful picturebook about mixing colors. It is most appropriate for preschoolers in length but could be adapted for toddlers.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful way to blend art in with social skills.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let your child read this with you and decide which color you think is more well liked. Simple big illustrations. Simple story to read.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute!!! My art teacher will love this! :-)