LIGHT, Steve. Black Bird Yellow Sun. illus. by Steve Light. 16p. Candlewick. Mar. 2018. Board $7.99. ISBN 9780763690670.

Toddler-PreS –A delightful journey through a day filled with bright exciting colors. The bold yellow sun comes up and a black bird and a small orange worm greet it while standing on a black branch. Then they’re off! Readers will follow eagerly as the pair move through each new environment until at last they meet a blue moon at the end of a very full day. The ink-and-paper collage illustrations bring each new setting to life with heavy, textured stamps. The black bird is created out of single piece of black paper but the changes in its eyes, posture, and positioning convey fear, curiosity, and happiness as it flies and walks through the colorful world. The words are printed with bold black type and the text doesn’t stray from the repeating color format (e.g., “Black Bird/Orange Leaves, Black Bird/Red Snake”) The story provides ample opportunities to talk about sizes, shapes, textures, and colors. VERDICT Adventurous and exciting but simple enough for even the earliest readers, this is an excellent board book and a first purchase.–Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library

This review was published in the School Library Journal February 2018 issue.