Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )

I liked Violet for a variety of reasons. The illustrations are very colorful and non-traditional, yet cohesive. The shapes are curvy and squiggly, for example the crooked doors, curvy trees, squiggly backpacks, and lanky, curvy people. The expression in the dialogue is engaging – it is as if the reader can hear the conversations. The use of capital letters and punctuation marks in the section where a character says, “Who’s that?!?...Your dad is BLUE??!” is powerful because you can picture someone exclaiming those things, and the style of writing may not be common in other texts students are familiar with. I also liked the characters in the story. Violet, the main character, is a relatable figure. She was nervous to go to school on the first day and even tried to get out of it by telling her mom “I don’t feel so good…my stomach hurts.” She is also relatable because she was worried about fitting in with her peers. “She was thinking about what the girl had said and worrying all over again about fitting in.” Shifts in tone in the writing allow readers to feel empathy. I liked the overall messages of the story, which were about self-acceptance and being yourself. Violet’s mother said, “Just be yourself. People should like you for who you are, not what color you are.” This book had a very uplifting and positive message, which is another reason I enjoyed it so much and would recommend reading it. ( )

I liked this book for a number of reasons. One of the reasons I liked this book was for the characters the author used. In this story the characters were different colors. The main character was Violet but the majority of the other kids she saw were yellow, red, and blue. She wasn’t sure why she was the color she was until her mother shared with her that she is a mix of her mom and dad. The mother was very descriptive and showed Violet that when you mix red and blue you get purple and that there are people from all different the colors of the rainbow. I thought this was an awesome way to show kids who might be mixed why they are the way they are and that it is more than okay to be yourself. I also liked how the author really showed us Violets emotions. It was clear to us how she felt in the story. At first she was uncomfortable and sad when the other kids asked her why she was Violet when her dad was blue. She went home and began to cry but when her mom explained to why she is violet she gained a whole new confidence and was proud to be violet. The main messages of this story was to be proud of who you and to not worry about what other people think. Just be yourself.
The genre of this book is modern fantasy. The plot of this story is logical even though the characters are all different colors. The story takes place on Violets first day of school. Everything about the setting could totally happen in real life besides the fact the humans are not colorful. The theme does help the readers realize that some people are mixed and explains that they are a part of their mom and their dad. It also allows kids who may be mixed accept who they are and that it makes them special. ( )

The cover attracted me to this book. Campy, colorful drawings of butterflies, leaves, flowers, and designs surround the word Violet and the picture of an extremely skinny little girl whose skin is purple. The story is fairly simple. Violet begins school and is nervous about making friends. The first day goes well until her father comes to pick her up. Then a girl asks Violet why she isn’t blue like her father. At home, Violet’s mother, who is red, explains that Violet is a mixture of the two of them.

This is a gentle story that tackles a sensitive subject, mixed race children, with a light, positive tone. It also manages to sneak in a little lesson on mixing primary colors to get secondary colors.

I think this would be an excellent book for all children, not just those from mixed families. Every child should be made aware of comments that may hurt the feelings of children who see themselves, or are seen as, different than the majority. As well, the story shows that the child of mixed race parents can be both beautiful and precious.

The drawings are lively and fun. The length and vocabulary level would be suited to children in second grade but younger children would enjoy hearing the story read by an adult. I think this would be a wonderful addition to the books parents read to their children before they begin school. ( )

In my opinion this is an exemplary book due to the fact that it gets readers to think about race while the illustrations help explain the plot. Violet, is a story about a girl who is starting school and learns that everyone is unique in their own way. Violet goes to school on the first day and notices she has classmates who are red, yellow, and blue but no one else is violet. She doesn’t let this bother her until her classmates notice that she’s not red or blue when her parents pick her up from school and drop her off. She asks her mom why she’s purple. Her mom shows her with paints that when red and blue come together they make purple and reassures Violet that she’s beautiful and unique. The next day when Violet’s mom drops her off at school another student asks Violet if that was her parent and Violet proudly says “My mom is red, my dad is blue and I am violet!” This story does a wonderful job at showing readers that it is okay to be different. With a growing population of readers who are biracial or of a minority race this story helps them and others understand that different is not so strange. It’s unique and beautiful! The illustrations succeed at depicting the struggle Violet goes through to understand this with the different children being depicted in different colors that match their parents. Yellow children with yellow parents and blue children with blue parents. The big idea or message this story provides readers is that race is not something to single others out but an idea that makes us all unique and special in different ways. ( )