{"id":36406,"date":"2019-08-02T22:08:17","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T02:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36406"},"modified":"2019-08-02T22:08:17","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T02:08:17","slug":"review-of-vanishing-colors-by-constance-orbeck-nilssen-akin-duzakin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36406","title":{"rendered":"Review of Vanishing Colors, by Constance \u00d8rbeck-Nilssen & Akin Duzakin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Vanishing Colors<\/em><\/p>\n

by Constance \u00d8rbeck-Nilssen & Akin Duzakin
\ntranslated by Kari Dickson<\/p>\n

Eerdman\u2019s Books for Young Readers, 2019. Originally published in Norway in 2017.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written July 5, 2019, from a library book<\/p>\n

This book begins with a girl and her mother huddling in a broken building in a bombed-out city, all drawn in shades of gray and black, dark and sad.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me about the bird again,\u201d I say quietly.
\nSo she tells me about the bird.
\nThe one that swoops down from the mountains as evening falls
\nand spreads its wings over our house
\nto protect us from danger.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The bird, a big, warm, comforting bird, comes while the girl\u2019s mother is sleeping and sings a song and talks with the girl while bombs fall outside. The bird reminds her of the wonderful things that were there before. He helps her remember the colors \u2013 the bright colors of their lives before the war.<\/p>\n

And especially, as the girl and her mother prepare to leave to a new place, the bird tells her that a rainbow makes a bridge across the sky and reminds us that there is always a way.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all done very beautifully. As the bird brings back memories, one by one more colors show up in the pictures of the memories, beginning with a bright red dress the girl wore when she was with her father.<\/p>\n

The rainbow at the end gives the reader hope that their lives will have colors again.<\/p>\n

I wish that children didn\u2019t have any need whatsoever to empathize with refugees of war. But given the world we actually have, this book has the right mix of reality plus hope.<\/p>\n

constanceonilssen.com<\/a>
\nakinduzakin.com<\/a>
\nEerdmans.com\/youngreaders<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/vanishing_colors.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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