Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Boy cites the colors of his moods in poetic slice of life.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Young Jamie, an active boy in a family with two brothers, a sister, and both parents, goes though a day of changing moods he associates with colors. He goes from a purple kind of mood, happily listening to music on the couch, until his older brothers kick him off to play video games and he heads to \"a gray kind of place.\" When they tease him he gets \"So mad my/ mood turns black.\" But on the basketball court, \"Swish! and swish!/ Sweet orange mood/ That's what I'm in.\"
Is It Any Good?
In refreshingly inventive free verse, sprinkled with some rhyming lines, MY COLD PLUM LEMON PIE BLUESY MOOD does what the best poetry does: expresses feelings with nuance and metaphors. Going through his day, Jamie encounters typical moments of exuberance, calm, anger, frustration, and sibling squabbles, capped off my a warm family dinner. This book could be a great jumping off point for talking about moods -- and it sends a subtle message that it's OK to have different moods (everybody does), and it's cool for boys to open up about their feelings.
The expressive, stylized illustrations by Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award-winning artist Shane W. Evans (Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom) capture every mood shift and give Jamie, his world, and his common family struggles universal appeal.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about moods. How many different ones might you have in a day?
This story is told in free verse which is a kind of poetry that doesn't have to follow rhyming rules. Do you like it as much as a story that sticks to a rhyming pattern?
What colors would you match to your moods? Draw a picture of three different moods with different colored crayons or markers.
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Shane W. Evans
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Viking Juvenile
- Publication date : March 7, 2013
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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