#365PictureBooks 19. Mix It Up! by Herve Tullet

Tullet, H. (2014). Mix It Up!. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen & Unwin.

ISBN: 9781760110956
Pages: 68
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6 / Middle Childhood 7-12
Genre: Picture Book
Rating: 5 stars

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First off, let me just say ... I LOVE HERVE TULLET!  His books are just freaking AWESOME! 

Mix It Up! was originally published in France, by Bayard Editions, with the title Couleurs.  It was published in the same year in English by Allen & Unwin.  It has a board-book cover, and stitched and glued pages, which makes it robust and able to handle the use it will undoubtedly get.

At its heart this is an instruction manual on how to mix colours.  But it is so much more than that.  It is interactive.  It is fun.   It gets kids thinking "What if?"  What if you mix this colour with that colour?  What if you smash two pages together with wet paint on them?  It starts children on the track of creativity and exploration. 

The text is simple and instructional.  The illustrations are paint strokes and splotches - nothing more.  But they are exactly what is needed.  This is what children would see on their own sheets of paper as they investigate what mixing different colours together will achieve.  As you look at each paint splotch you can see the paint brush bristles or the finger prints, and you can see the flicks and smudges (the mistakes) that are not part of the main image.  It shows children that they don't have to be clean and tidy when they are trying things out.  Painting, and creativity in general, is a messy business.  Have Fun.  Embrace the crazy.  Let loose and be creative!

You have to check out Tullet's website.  It is so much fun.  There are simply oodles of things for you to look at and interact with.  I spent ages on The game of eyes page.  It wasn't till my second time through it that I realised the eyes move.  Freaky!  And so much fun trying to trick the eyes into not knowing where the mouse is ;-) 

This is a seriously awesome book to add to your collection.  It is a fun & interactive read, AND it teaches children about colours.  I can guarantee that the adults reading it will HAVE TO do all the actions it sais, AND they will have sooooooo much fun.  I dare you to read this and NOT do what it tells you!!!  Our year 5's & 6's are the ones that have been getting the most fun out of his book Press Here.  You don't have to be a little kid to enjoy Tullet.  

See you.  I'm off to play the game of eyes again. #Hooked

I got my copy of Mix It Up! from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

You can check out more reviews of Mix It Up! on Goodreads.