Out of the Blue

About this book

A young boy lives in a place where anything that isn’t the colour blue is banned, by order of the government. At school they do a litter pick and toss anything that isn’t blue into bin bags. But the boy has a secret: he loves the colour yellow. And every now and then he takes a yellow item – a rubber duck, some sticky notes – and hides them in his closet. He feels that loving yellow must be bad.

One day, all of his yellow things fall out, and his dad sees them. The boy is frozen in terror. But luckily, he has a kind, supportive dad, and together they decide that it’s fine to love yellow. Their small act of defiance encourages others to show how they feel, and soon the street is a riot of colour, and everyone is much happier.

This gentle, positive story is a gorgeous celebration of being true to yourself. The beautiful illustrations show brilliantly, despite their beauty, how dull it is when everything and everyone is forced to be the same. The loving relationship between the single dad and his son is particularly nicely done in a matter-of-fact way, and the rhythm of the rhyming text pulls the reader through the story at the perfect pace.