Green on Green

Short lines of soothing, rhythmic stanzas accompany a beautiful story of color through nature’s seasons, starting and ending in spring and revolving around a particular boy and his family. Magical diction in the text describes the colors and items associated with each season, ending regularly in a format tying back to the color green: “Lemonade, sunflakes, and yellow on green.” Even as the seasons change to a brown fall and a white winter, and there is little to no green to be seen, the tie back to green remains, prompting what may be a deeper message. Perhaps green means bounteous blessings and life as a whole, rather than just the last green blades of grass or weighty pine needles covered in snow, thus paralleling the mother’s growing stomach during her pregnancy and birth of her second child. The gorgeous illustrations use watercolor, gouache, and colored pencils to lovingly portray favorite features associated with each season, such as lemonade, the beach, peaches, and deer tracks in the snow, though the piercing blue eyes of the characters feel out of place in the otherwise peaceful display. Ultimately, White’s colorful text and Sala’s original illustrations combine to create an advanced expression of color throughout the year.