COURAGE OF THE BLUE BOY

In a still boldly drawn but less frenetic outing than Wow, City! (2004) and Wow, America! (May 2006), Neubecker sends an all-blue lad and his diminutive blue cow out of their all-blue land in search of other colors. Attracting surprisingly little notice from passersby, the travelers visit countries yellow, purple, orange, red and more, settling down at last in a motley city bright with every color except blue. Fearfully retreating to his room, he gradually summons the courage to sing, paint and write in his own distinctive color, and then to venture back out—to discover that not only have patches of blue appeared in the busy cityscape, but now he (and his bovine pet) have absorbed the other hues in turn. The metaphor’s plainly doing the driving here, but is clear enough to be understood by younger readers too, and broad enough to be interpreted in either a personal or a cultural way. (Picture book. 6-8)