No One Owns the Colors - by Gianna Davy (Hardcover)

About the Book

"No One Owns the Colors is a lively celebration of self-expression and a bolstering invitation to advocate for your special uniqueness. The unnamed and non-gendered narrator shows us that colors are simply part of our natural world. No bit of the spectrum--from pink and blue to scarlet and chartreuse--is meant to be claimed by any one gender or being or culture. Color is not something that can be right or wrong, or better or worse."--Amazon website.

Book Synopsis

Bookstagang Best of 2023 Picture Book Award Winner Best Read Aloud

2024 CIPA EVVY AWARDS WINNER BRONZE

For every young artist scolded for using the "wrong" color crayon, every boy teased for wearing a pastel shirt, every girl denied blue shoes, here's the perfect response: All colors are for everyone. Just ask Nature!

No One Owns the Colors is a lively celebration of self-expression and a bolstering invitation to advocate for your special uniqueness.

The unnamed and non-gendered narrator shows us that colors are simply part of our natural world. No bit of the spectrum--from pink and blue to scarlet and chartreuse--is meant to be claimed by any one gender or being or culture. Color is not something that can be right or wrong, or better or worse.

Inspired by school yard experiences of the author's own children, this melodic, rhythmic text provides the words and the confidence readers may need if someone says that their color--be it skin, shirt, shoes, or simply the crayon they love most--is wrong.

Review Quotes

"No One Owns the Colors is an engaging, brightly illustrated children's book celebrating the beauty of all colors and the parts they play in our lives. This book can be used as a conversation-starter for parents wanting to introduce this important concept of the value of diversity to their young kids."--Jill C. Dardig, Professor Emerita at Ohio Dominican University, author of Let's Make a Contract: A Positive Way to Change Your Child's Behavior

"Throughout, singsong text takes a circular approach to celebrating Earth's variety of hues, and images and words jointly pay tribute to the way the natural world and its many colors can unite."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Well-suited and boldly colored illustrations bring the text to life and could have children reaching for the biggest box of crayons they can find to capture all the colors that are a part of their own identities. Combining nature and self-expression, this title will be useful for all collections and should spark lively discussions with children and even older elementary readers."-- "School Library Journal"

About the Author

A professional ballerina by age 16, Gianna Davy adventured her way across stages for 15 glorious years until settling down to start a family. Today she lives in Healdsburg, CA where she works as a Speech Language Pathologist, teaches dance, makes jewelry, hugs her children, and belts out karaoke in the car. She is the author of No One Owns the Colors and loves traipsing across misty hillsides, collecting odd words, and the notion that life and art are inseparable. She hopes that How Do I Wonder? will inspire curiosity and wonder in everyone who reads it.

Brenda Rodriguez is an illustrator and designer with a love for picture books, comics, stickers and other printed media. She showcases her love for visual storytelling through colorful and whimsical illustrations that are influenced by her own life and her favorite fantasy stories. She is originally from Miami, but after graduating from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration, she now lives in Washington, DC, with her partner Gabe and her orange tabby cat, Sherbert. She is the illustrator of No One Owns the Colors.