Yesterday I Had the Blues by Jeron Ashford Frame, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Review by Erica Moore

"Yesterday I had the
Blues.
... But today I got the
Greens."


It seems everyone in this family has something from the grays and indigo blues to the pinks and the reds. Watch out for the pinks they come with shiny tights and a butterfly hair clip. This poetry about a family and feelings hits the mark. The verse sings and the bold illustrations emphasize the emotions through color and facial expressions. Even my 2 1/2 year old understands the reds mean mad in this story. And who has the reds? The mama who doesn't approve of jumping on the bed. Add this book to your library.

This is a great way to get young children to identify emotions that are hard to talk about. Have fun thinking of things that make you feel yellow or silver or even purple. Do you have a favorite color? Does it remind you of anything special? If a birthday party had a color what would it be? These are all questions to get the imagination working. This is a very fun read aloud.

First published in 2003, it won many awards including the Ezra Jack Keats Award and was featured in PBS's Between the Lions. The paperback edition was published in 2008.



More info:
Yesterday I Had the Blues by Jeron Ashford Frame, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Publisher: Tricycle Press, paperback 2008
Ages: 3-7 (preschool - 2nd grade)
ISBN -13: 978-1-58246-260-8 pbk
ISBN 10: 1-58246-260-7-pbk