Using a curious and conversational tone, the author offers readers an exploration of the color orange, including its naming, creation, and use. The mineral realgar, for example, was used to make an orange pigment, and the orange mineral crocoite led to the discovery of the element chromium. Remarkable tidbits are balanced with more child-centered observations (“Artists can make their own orange by mixing red and yellow paints”). On a double-page spread that shows a child viewing an oil painting, the text reads, “This painting is called Orange and Yellow. It is by Mark Rothko, and it is very large. If you stand close enough, you might feel absorbed into its orange glow.” From paintings to space suits, and from monarchs to marigolds, Poliquin’s curated field trip invites readers to consider the color orange in their own worlds.

"A tour de force through world history, the natural world, and cultural studies." —School Library Journal (starred review)

Prepare your senses for a delicious shock of orange in all its glory and variety—in a playful color tribute destined to wow art and design enthusiasts of all ages.

Look closely. The color orange is all around you, not only in the natural world—from fruit and foxes to minerals and mushrooms—but in the human-engineered world, too, from works of art to religious ceremonies to astronaut survival suits. Ranging through time and circumnavigating the globe, witty stream-of-consciousness text and jaunty illustrations explore color through surprising social, historical, cultural, and artistic lenses. With more than thirty vivid examples and a gentle introduction to color theory, this eye-opening voyage into the heart of orange is a clever appeal to experience other colors—and the world at large—with an open and expansive mind.