In a Blue Room Summary and Reviews

In a Blue Room
by Jim Averbeck

In a Blue Room
List Price: $16.00
Our Price: $2.00
You Save: $14.00 (88%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.54 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Jim Averbeck
Illustrator: Tricia Tusa
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-01
ISBN: 015205992X
Number of pages: 32
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books

Book Reviews of In a Blue Room

Book Review: 4 1/2* Kind of Blue
Summary: 5 Stars

Young Alice not only loves the color blue, she insists on it, especially at bedtime. This particular night seem to especially need blue, as "Alice bounces, wide-awake past bedtime." Mama brings her a few of her favorite things: White Flowers (lilacs and lilywhites), tea (orange colored, steaming in a brown cup, a "silky soft and warm" cozy quilt (a red and green pattern), and "lullaby bells to sing you to sleep" ("yellow bells on black strings" that "chime softly in the window breeze.")

Alice, of course, recognizes that none of these sleep-inducing objects are blue and she lets Mama know. Mama, however, recognizes that it's not the color that soothes Alice, but the process of sharing beautiful, simple objects with her mother. When Alice comments on the absence of blue, Mama (Zen-like) merely suggests that she smell, taste, or touch what she's brought into the room: Alice is in the moment. Slowly, and perceptibly to the smiling, warm mother, Alice drifts off to sleep. As she lies sleepily and cozy in bed, surrounded by her mother's nighttime gifts, her room turns blue. There's a natural explanation for the blue-bathed room, but symbolically, I think it represents Mama's love and Alice's trust.

That's a beautiful message (if I got it right), but it may be lost on youngsters. In fact, I had to read the book a few times to understand the apparent disjunction between Alice's protests and her next-page acquiescence to each non-blue object. It's not really explained, and one needs to do a bit of intellectualizing to resolve it. However, Jim Averbeck's softly beautiful narrative, the increasingly sleepy-time feeling of the story, and the almost magical blue-bathing of Alice's room when she falls asleep minimize the impact of this slight logical leap. Of course, young toddlers probably won't notice at all, and that's what counts.

Special mention must be made of the gorgeous ink, watercolor, and gouache pictures by Tricia Tulsa, an enormously talented illustrator whose soft, fanciful pictures have enough substance to enhance the overall mood. They're a mixture of old-fashioned Americana--bouncy energy and clutter--combined with a delicacy and atmosphere that recalls minimalist Asian painting and brushwork. The unusual but soothing palette is ideal. Printed on high quality paper, this will likely find a treasured spot in the bedtime library.

Parents Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Parents Books
Weird Parents (Picture Puffins) ImageWeird Parents (Picture Puffins)
by Audrey Wood
Puffin; Published: 1995-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.44
Price in other shops: $6.99
A Packet of Seeds ImageA Packet of Seeds
by Deborah Hopkinson
Greenwillow; Published: 2004-03; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $21.78
Toby, Who Are You? ImageToby, Who Are You?
by William Steig
HarperCollins; Published: 2004-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $14.99
Bull Rider (2000) ImageBull Rider (2000)
by Marilyn Halvorson
Collier-Macmillan Canada Ltd; Published: 1989-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: $5.95
Nobody's Family Is Going to Change ImageNobody's Family Is Going to Change
by Louise Fitzhugh
Square Fish; Published: 2008-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops: $8.99
The Top Job ImageThe Top Job
by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel
Puffin; Published: 2009-05-28; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.43
Price in other shops: $6.99
Adam of the Road (Puffin Modern Classics) ImageAdam of the Road (Puffin Modern Classics)
by Elizabeth Janet Gray
Puffin; Published: 2006-10-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.76
Price in other shops: $6.99
Where the Wild Things Are ImageWhere the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
Where the Wild Things Are; HarperCollins; Published: 1984-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.68
Price in other shops: $8.95
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? ImageDoes a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?
by Eric Carle
HarperCollins; Published: 2000-03-22; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $16.37
Price in other shops: $18.89
What Do You Say, Dear? ImageWhat Do You Say, Dear?
by Sesyle Joslin
HarperCollins; Published: 1958-01-21; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $13.91
Price in other shops: $17.89
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Secret Lives of Princesses ImageThe Secret Lives of Princesses
by Philippe Lechermeier
Sterling; Published: 2010-06-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.04
Price in other shops: $19.95
Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes ImagePocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
by Salley Mavor
Houghton Mifflin; Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; Published: 2010-09-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.48
Price in other shops: $21.99
Ish ImageIsh
by Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick Press; Candlewick; Published: 2004-08-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.96
Price in other shops: $14.00
A Sick Day for Amos McGee ImageA Sick Day for Amos McGee
by Philip C. Stead
Books; Roaring Brook Press; Published: 2010-05-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.39
Price in other shops: $16.99
Oh, What a Busy Day ImageOh, What a Busy Day
by Gyo Fujikawa
Books; Sterling; Published: 2010-04-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.88
Price in other shops: $9.95
How Rocket Learned to Read ImageHow Rocket Learned to Read
by Tad Hills
Schwartz & Wade; Schwartz & Wade; Published: 2010-07-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops: $17.99
Follow Me ImageFollow Me
by Tricia Tusa
Harcourt Children's Books; Published: 2011-04-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.48
Price in other shops: $16.99
The Sandwich Swap ImageThe Sandwich Swap
by Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah, Kelly DiPucchio
Books; Hyperion Book CH; Published: 2010-04-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.89
Price in other shops: $16.99
except if Imageexcept if
by Jim Averbeck
Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Published: 2011-01-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.80
Price in other shops: $12.99
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale ImageKnuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
by Mo Willems
Harper Collins; Hyperion; Published: 2004-07-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.33
Price in other shops: $16.99