Orange Is an Apricot, Green Is a Tree Frog

A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year

Orange Is an Apricot, Green Is a Tree Frog inspires young learners' curiosity in nature and language through the simple joy of connecting words and pictures through colors. Yellow looks like a daffodil and a dahlia, a lemon and a chick. Blue looks like a dragonfly and an iris, a blue tang and a bluebird. Pascale Estellon's wonderfully detailed gouache illustrations bring the many shades of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, black, and white to life and serve as a beginner's field guide to new words and new worlds. Children will expand their vocabulary and delight in seeing words they already know while learning the names of new animals, plants, and fruits and vegetables through their hues.

"Summer is a perfect time to read this beautifully illustrated tribute to color. Turn each page and revel in orange, green, red, yellow — the entire rainbow — then take a look around your yard and see how many colors you can find."
- The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.),


"On its surface, this appears to be yet another book that dedicates each double-page spread to a single color. Yet the mastery of the art cannot be so easily brushed off....The section where the white objects are highlighted against the black background make it worth it in and of itself."
- School Library Journal Fuse 8 Blog,


"Spare text, lovely pictures, and sundry flowers, vegetables, wildlife, and more showcase both the color spectrum and nature's diversity....The vibrant visuals and consistent format have appeal, and children will enjoy recognizing and identifying some familiar items and have their interests piqued by others."
- Booklist

"Fishes, feathers, birds, bugs, vegetables, fruits, and flowers populate this homage to seven colors....The vivid richness and fine visual detail will bring young readers back again and again."
- Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)

"Pascal Estellon sorts creatures and plants by color in Orange Is an Apricot, Green Is aTree Frog, a picture-book primer notable for the elegance of its layout and the pleasing specificity of its depictions. Words are at a minimum as, in gouache paintings, Mr. Estellon presents five colors (along with black and white) as they are expressed in nature. Yellow is corn on the cob and a zucchini blossom and a delicate frond of wheat; it is a daffodil, a dandelion and a dahlia."
- The Wall Street Journal,

Pascale Estellon is an author and illustrator based in Brunoy, France, near Paris. Estellon worked in children's book publishing for Mila Éditions for more than fifteen years before becoming a full-time illustrator. Her activity books, including The Giant Play and Learn Book, have been enjoyed by children everywhere who delight in creativity and in learning about the natural world.