The journey through colorful children’s material continues this week with two colors — pink and purple! My original plan was to have a separate column for each color, but I was surprised that I couldn’t find more picture books with “purple” in the title. Actually, it’s all good because pink and purple belong together, don’t you agree? Such happy colors deserve to be partners, so without further ado, let me introduce you to positively pleasing pink and perfectly plummy purple picture books.
Is it a coincidence that two of the most popular children’s books include purple objects? I think not; after all, purple has no flaws. Well, I might be a little biased because purple happens to be one of my favorite colors. It’s certainly Harold’s and Lilly’s favorite color as evidenced in the charming picture books “Harold and the Purple Crayon” and “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse.”
The other two purple-themed titles in today’s list offer a different take on the color associated with grapes and eggplants. In “The Purple Puffy Coat” Stickbug is celebrating a birthday and Beetle decides that a purple puffy coat is the perfect birthday present for his insect friend. But is it? Stickbug certainly sticks out in his brand-new coat, so the question is, does the coat make Stickbug happy? The color purple also comes under question in “Purple Little Bird.” The story is about a purple bird, and one thing is for sure — he can’t change his color. But the purple doesn’t stop there. He lives in a purple house and has a purple garden. Is it possible to have too much purple? As he visits friends of different colors, he’ll discover that even favorite things are sometimes most appreciated in moderation.
And then there’s pink. Yes, I was one of those little girls who loved pink so much that I begged my parents for a pink bedroom. For Christmas one year, I received a 3-foot-tall stuffed Pink Panther, and he lived in my room for many years. This is why I had to include the DVD “The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection” in this list. Pink Panther’s antics are always worth a giggle.
