*Yellow and Pink by William Steig (Retro Reads)

Yellow and Pink is a simple, thoughtful picture book about two marionettes who discuss whether they are the result of intelligent design or a series of random accidents.

*Yellow and Pink by William Steig. Square Fish, 1988. 32 pages.

• Reading Level: Picture books, ages 4-8
• Recommended For: Ages 4-8

Two yellow wooden figures lie in the sun on a newspaper, pondering. The skinny yellow one engages the other, who is round and pink, in a philosophical dialogue exploring identity and origins. Who are they, and how did they get there? Pink observes his companion’s admirable form and appearance and deduces that “Someone must have made us.” 

Yellow scoffs at this notion and imagines a far more elaborate series of events that happened by accident over a million years. Twice, with slight variations. Pink continues challenging his theory until Yellow casually ends the argument.

“Just then a man who needed a haircut came shambling along, humming out of tune.” For the reader, there is no “mystery,” as Yellow claims, and we expect that Yellow and Pink will soon be enlightened. The pictures are simple with a limited palette and infused with humor. The logic of intelligent design is simple enough for a child without condescending; this is a book for adults as well as children.

*indicates a Redeemed Reader starred review, an outstanding example in its field.

Considerations: none.

Bottom Line: Steig began his career as a cartoonist and is best known in the children’s book world as the author/illustrator of Caldecott award-winning Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, Newbery-honor winning Doctor De Soto, and Shrek, the picture book the movie is based on, among numerous others. Yellow and Pink is not as well-known as some of the others, but it is excellent and worth acquiring a copy.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: Ten Little Rabbits by Maurice Sendak—another lesser known title by a popular 20th century children’s book creator.
• Book Reviews: Three recent science picture books (including one starred review).
• Resources: We’re honored to have a nice repository of blog posts by the late Gladys Hunt housed in The Hive here on Redeemed Reader. Two that relate to Yellow and Pink (in terms of re-issues because Yellow and Pink has fallen in and out of print): Re-issues: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Hooray for Re-Issues.

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