Learning Patterns and Colors with Books

For months and months, my three-year-old son’s favorite color has been purple. He paints, draws and writes his name in purple. But the other day, a remarkable thing happened. “Not just purple,” he said. “Green and purple.”

Duck & Goose Colors!

Written and Illustrated by Tad Hills

And so, the world of colors expands. With the new board book, Duck & Goose Colors! by Tad Hills, I’m expecting even more colors to come into our world. The new book is part of the Duck & Goose series, invoking the same colorful and curious birds. “Duck’s feet are Orange, like a pumpkin, a carrot, and Goose’s hat.” In a sturdy board book format, the book is brimming with bright colors; though one of my favorites is not bright at all, but gray: “Thistle is gray, like some rocks and the sky on a cloudy day.”

Ages 0-3 | Publisher: Random House Children’s Books | 2015 | ISBN-13: 9780553508062

Colors

Written and Illustrated by Charley Harper

Colors, by Charley Harper, reads almost like minimalist poetry. “Two girls swimming in the blue water.” “Two colorful birds on pointy green leaves.” Also a board book, Harper’s images are colorful, too, and include interesting patterns and geometric shapes. In fact, it seems a precursor to the next book mentioned here about patterns.

Ages 0-3 | Publisher: AMMO Books | 2011 | ISBN-13: 978-1934429549

I See A Pattern Here

By Bruce Goldstone

With colorful photographs, I See A Pattern Here, by Bruce Goldstone, revels in patterns in both the natural and manmade world. There are mud cloths from Africa—patterns made by leaving special mud on fabric for up to a year; a tile mosaic from the Apollo Temple in Corinth, Greece; and ideas on how to make your own patterns. The book also includes “MathSpeak,” sidebars that include mathematicians’ lingo for patterns. For instance, “The math word for slide is translation. That doesn’t mean naming a shape in another language. In math, a translation is a move from one place to another.” The audience for this book is wide-ranging, from the preschooler, interested in patterns, to the older child, exposed to more complicated math ideas.

Ages 3-10 | Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. | 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0805092097

My son grabs his markers and gets to work—or rather, play. I let him be, then come over and see his newest drawing. There, in the corner, I think I see a spot of yellow.

This book list, “Learning Patterns and Colors with Kids Color Books,” was curated by Nina Schuyler. Follow along with our articles and reviews tagged with Colorful Board Books and Books About Colors  to discover more great titles just like these ones.