The Color Collector written by Nicholas Solis and illustrated by Renia Metallinou is an engaging picture book that speaks very naturally to a lot of important topics such as diversity, friendship, creativity and storytelling.
It is told in the first person by a boy in the same class as Violet. Violet is a new student from a different culture, who is very quiet and who walks home from school alone each day. One day the boy who walks home the very same way sees Violet stop and pick up a red leaf and place it in her backpack. As the story develops the reader finds out that Violet picks up lots of “stuff” including blue cookie wrappers, pieces of yellow papers and green bottle caps. These found objects are always placed directly in her backpack.
The boy finally asks her what she does with all the things she has collected. So, she decides to show him. They stop at her house, climb some stairs and then she opens the door to her bedroom. WOW! One entire wall of her room is covered with a collage of scenes made from her found objects that remind her of her former home. This illustration is gorgeous. There are palm trees, green plants, red flowers, yellow beaches, deep blue water, colorful houses and even a woman, possibly her grandmother, walking on the beach. It is a visual treat! The two -page spread also lets you see the rest of her room including colored-pencils, glue and red leaves waiting to become part of the wall.
This sharing leads Violet to also share stories from her former home and culture. The boy describes the scene:
“We sit and talk.
Then laugh.
Then talk some more.
She is not so sad.
She is not so alone.
It feels good to be her friend.”
The Color Collector, a beautiful story of sharing and friendship, encourages the boy himself to start collecting found objects of his own. This picture book is designed for children 4-8 years of age (Sleeping Bear Press, 2021).
The Children’s Bookshelf is a production of WCMU. Links to the podcast and the Activity Questions can be found at Children’s Bookshelf dot org.
Activity Questions for The Color Collector
Look at the picture of Violet’s colorful bedroom wall where she has created a beautiful scene of her home country out of found colors and objects. What detail speaks to you most strongly? Why? Create a large poster to hang on your bedroom wall that reminds you of your current hometown? Gather colorful leaves, scraps of paper and found objects with which to create your poster. Let your imagination fly!
Have you ever reached out to a student who was new to your school? If you did, how did it make you feel? Can you draw a picture of that feeling? Have you ever been the new kid on the block or in the classroom? How did that make you feel? Did someone speak to you and make you feel more at ease? Write a small thank you note to that person and decorate it with beautiful colors.
Younger children: Go on a color hunt. Look at the end papers and find the following 12 colorful things: a dark blue airplane, a red maple leaf, an orange cat, a yellow smiley face, a woman with golden hair, a man carrying red flowers, a white star, red polka dots, black polka dots, a green newspaper, a sign for “finest tea” and black musical notes. Look carefully…it’s all there!