Before Colors: Where Pigments and Dyes Come From

The media could not be loaded.  Because of the sheer breadth of material, this picture book is aimed at an older audience, but my 6yo adores it and asks to read it regularly. It covers everything from the origins of different pigments and dyes, to brief biographies of notable artists and artisans, to facts about how the human eye sees color. The content is arranged mostly in bite-sized chunks, so you can choose your own adventure when reading it to a child. (It’s too long to read aloud cover to cover in one sitting.) But it’s a testament to the skill of the writer that she’s able to bring such warmth, depth and humanity to a nonfiction topic. And the art is gorgeous.

This is a great book, very well written and illustrated for all ages; child to adult.

Book is a gift for an elementary art teacher. It combines her interest in colors and her work.

I thought this book would be great for my 5 year old, but the text is more for the adult. It is a good as starting point with the adult putting it into simpler language. Or to talk together about the illustrations. Example: The book explains that classical marble sculptures are now white but were colorful when originally done. "Sometimes artisans lightly scored the surface of the stone to make the pattern they intended to point, like lines in a coloring book. The Brinkmanns' scientific techniques help them find those marks on the marble, too."It is filled with information about color sources and includes information about the receptors in our eyes that enable us to see colors.This book gives credit to multiple cultures for the colors still used.It lists sources for further exploration.

Annette Pimentel's books always delight. I look forward to each new one and buy them for my whole family - they are appropriate for all ages. Although they are considered children's books, they are full of carefully researched information and just delightful to read for any age. I learned things that I didn't know I didn't know and got answers to questions I didn't know I should ask. I love the suggested activities included in this one.

Another fascinating addition to Before Music. With lyrical language about how color comes about coupled with informational pages about the color history, your kids will be sucked in. I left my copy on the table, and caught every family member engrossed at one time or another (from my husband, down to my 14-year-old).The oversized book makes it fun to look through, and allows the pictures to be that much more fun to be studied. I highly recommend this one!

Before Colors is a great book for those who are interested in how we see and produce color. There are great stories about the use of color (I particularly liked the one about using lichen to produce purple dye, and about Van Gogh's use of yellow), and information about how dyes and pigments are used by individuals and in different cultures. There is a project using red cabbage to test for acidity that I am looking forward to trying. I also enjoyed reading about cultural differences in identifying and talking about colors. If you have a child who is interested in color as an artist, or is a budding scientist, either will be enthalled by this book.

This was an amazing book! I especially loved the part where it talked about the animal, plant, and mineral sources for specific dyes. Also when it discussed color mixing and making white paints!

A well written and descriptive book that inspires us to look past the mundane story. Great illustrations and much to love in this book.