Black and White

PreS-Gr 1—This reprint of Ipcar's picture book exploration of contrasts, originally published in 1963, tells the story of two dogs, one black and one white, who spend the day together before returning home to continue their adventures in their dreams. The black dog dreams of a jungle with "big black elephants" and "fierce black panthers." The white dog dreams of an "arctic storm," "white arctic foxes," and "polar bears." But neither of the canines' dreams are stuck in black or white alone. Rather, black dog dreams of "black-and-white butterflies" and "black-and-white zebras" in his imaginary jungle and white dog dreams that "a great black whale meets a great white whale" in his "dream-sea" filled with "black-and-white fishes." The next morning, each dog shares his dream with the other before playing together again. The lyrical, evocative rhymes are accompanied by vivid illustrations on expansive spreads. Rather than giving each color a solitary depiction, Ipcar expertly combines the colors of black and white, showing how both colors coexist and intermingle in the natural world. Despite the title, the color palette is not monochromatic, and also consists of pinks, yellows, blues, and greens, making the black and white animals that appear on the pages all the more striking.