Various shades of blue are part of the life of a boy and his dog as both of them grow and change. Seeger’s masterful acrylic paintings offer a surprise with every single page turn, whether in clever die-cuts or in the paired words that play on the color and concept of “blue.” Every double-page spread suggests its own story as it captures a moment in time, encouraging readers to think about what came before that moment and what will come after. “Maybe blue,” for example, shows a spill of yellow paint on the boy’s mostly blue painting. There is also a book-long narrative that unfolds in the interplay between the boy and his dog over time, from babyhood to adulthood, puppyhood to old age. By story’s end, “blue” has become a mood, as the poignant moment when the boy—now grown—must say goodbye arrives (“So blue”) in a work that is funny and sad, powerful and tender. (Ages 3–7)

How many shades of blue are there?

There’s the soft blue of a baby’s cherished blanket, the ocean blue of a romp in the waves, the chilly blue of a cold winter’s walk in the snow, and the true blue of the bond that exists between children and animals.

In this simple, sumptuously illustrated companion to Caldecott Honor Book Green, award-winning artist Laura Vaccaro Seeger turns her attention to the ways in which color evokes emotion, and in doing so tells the story of one special and enduring friendship.