The Black and White Factory

PreS-Gr 2—A panda bear, penguin, and zebra have opened the doors to the top secret Black and White Factory to young readers. No colors are allowed beyond the doors, and the animals do everything they can to keep it that way. Directly speaking to readers, the animal tour guides display products such as chess sets, magic eight balls, dice, and dominoes. When they start showing off the Barcode Room, they suddenly discover to their horror a streak of orange. They ask readers to rub the color off on their shirt sleeves and then to let it drip from the bottom of the page. Through a series of catastrophic mishaps, the animals realize that a splash of color is not necessarily a bad thing and makes life a little bit brighter. The text is conveyed through comic-style speech bubbles, making the interactions between the animals and readers more immediate and personal. Young readers will be familiar with this style of story from such titles as Hervé Tullet's Press Here. The literal splashes of color toward the end of the book will be a welcome sight for young readers who may not be thrilled with the prolonged use of black and white. Children will be laughing all the way to the colorful ending.