Blue, Nana Ekua BrewHammond
Blue, Nana Ekua BrewHammond
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Blue
A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky

Author: Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

Series: The Color Chronicles

Narrator: Tashi Thomas

Unabridged: 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/15/2022


Synopsis

Discover a world of creativity and tradition in this fascinating picture book that explores the history and cultural significance of the color blue. From a critically acclaimed author and an award-winning illustrator comes a wonderful audiobook for listeners of all ages.

For centuries, blue powders and dyes were some of the most sought-after materials in the world. Ancient Afghan painters ground mass quantities of sapphire rocks to use for their paints, while snails were harvested in Eurasia for the tiny amounts of blue that their bodies would release.
 
And then there was indigo, which was so valuable that American plantations grew it as a cash crop on the backs of African slaves. It wasn't until 1905, when Adolf von Baeyer created a chemical blue dye, that blue could be used for anything and everything--most notably that uniform of workers everywhere, blue jeans.

This vibrant and fascinating picture book, adapted for audio, follows one color's journey through time and across the world, as it becomes the blue we know today.

About The Author

Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond is the author of Powder Necklace, which Publishers Weekly called "a winning debut." She was a 2019 Edward Albee Foundation Fellow, a 2018 Pa Gya! Literary Festival Guest Author, a 2018 Ake Arts and Book Festival Guest Author, a 2018 Hobart Festival of Women Writers Guest Author, a 2017 Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar, a 2016 Hedgbrook Writer-in-Residence, a 2015 Rhode Island Writers Colony Writer-in-Residence, and in both 2015 and 2014, she was shortlisted for a Miles Morland Writing Scholarship. In April 2015, she was the opening speaker at TEDxAccra. Every month, Brew-Hammond co-leads a monthly writing fellowship at Manhattan's Center for Faith and Work.Daniel Minter is a fine artist and illustrator. His paintings, carvings, block prints and sculptures have been exhibited at galleries and museums both nationally and internationally. He has illustrated numerous books for children, and is the recipient of the Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor and Caldecott Honor. He lives in Portland, Maine with his family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dave on July 23, 2023

Feeling blue, royalty, blue ribbon, singing the blues. A picture book for older kids about the history and cultural significance of the color blue, not ignoring the greed and injustice associated with it. Slaves in this country helped to raise indigo crops. Need I say that the book is colorful?......more

Goodreads review by Karen on July 25, 2023

A history of human production of blue dyes with an emphasis on the non-European, pre-Industrial Revolution sources of lapis lazuli and indigo. Good information on indigo production and dye techniques of West Africa and the subsequent enslavement of indigo producers in the New World.......more

Goodreads review by Rod on March 05, 2023

A fascinating glimpse at the history of blue dyes, reaching back thousands of years, and the cultural significance of the color blue around the world. It makes me want to learn more. (Another project! I'm trying to read all the picture books and graphic novels on the kids section of NPR's Books We Lo......more

Goodreads review by Moonkiszt on March 11, 2022

Featured in a grandma reads session. If you love blue, you'll love the pages in this book. . . .while they tell the history of humans and blue, the colors melt off the page and into your room, wherever you are reading and all things blue pop out at you. The kiddos enjoyed it, as there are a number of......more

Goodreads review by DaNae on September 18, 2022

Facinating......more


Quotes

"Sumptuous art that never stops surprising." —NPR

★ "Entrancing... A vibrant historical picture book that will leave readers curious about other colors." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Stunning and informative—and as profoundly rich as the color blue." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "Brew-Hammond’s graceful prose and fluid organization, coupled with Minter’s emotive illustrations, set synapses firing." —The Bulletin, starred review


Awards

  • Georgia Children's Book Award
  • Louisiana Young Reader's Choice Award
  • NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
  • New Jersey Garden State Children's Book Award
  • Texas Bluebonnet Master List