|
Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky
Last updated Thursday, September 3, 2026
Author: Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
Illustrator: Daniel Minter
Date of Publication: 2022
ISBN: 1984894366
Grade Level: 3rd (GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Sep. 2026
Synopsis:
For centuries, blue powders and dyes were some of the most sought-after materials in the world. Ancient Afghan painters ground mass quantities of sapphire rocks to use for their paints, while snails were harvested in Eurasia for the tiny amounts of blue that their bodies would release.
And then there was indigo, which was so valuable that American plantations grew it as a cash crop. It wasn't until 1905, when Adolf von Baeyer created a chemical blue dye, that blue could be used for anything and everything - most notably that uniform of workers everywhere, blue jeans.
This picture book follows one color's journey through time and across the world, as it becomes the blue we know today.
| Note to readers: |
| • |
“…blue appears in the strangest places, discovered throughout history in unexpected ways.” (consider placing
small “post-its “ on a globe to show where it was discovered / used). Lapis lazuli rocks were the first “perfect
blue;” over time other unusual sources were found. These special blue dyes were so valuable they were used as
money. This led to exploitation as the poor would be forced to work to produce valuable blue dyes. In 1905 blue
could be made cheaply, using chemicals, and it became affordable to all; and that won a Nobel Prize!
|
| • |
HEAD START: Listen to / read the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-ifXQXUcds (10 minutes)
|
| Discussion topics for before reading: |
| • |
What is your favorite color? Can you find it in nature? (flowers, insects, minerals…)
|
| • |
What color was so rare that only royalty and the very rich could afford it? (blue, of course!)
|
| • |
Any ideas how you would make the color blue?
Vocabulary
|
| • |
canvas: cloth stretched over a wooden frame; used by artists for their paintings
|
| • |
"royal pain”: something extremely difficult or troublesome
|
| • |
dyers: people who color cloth using natural or chemical dyes
|
| • |
Phoenicia: an ancient kingdom in the middle east covering parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel
|
| • |
urine (“pee-pee”): contains acids and chemicals that help to dissolve plant matter to make dyes
|
| • |
indigo: deep blue from the very best dye-producing plants (“Indigofera”)
|
| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
| • |
Have you ever seen lapis lazuli? It is a beautiful blue stone often used in jewelry.
How was it made into paints and cosmetics 6,000 years ago? Is this a difficult way to enjoy a beautiful color?
|
| • |
How did the Phoenician myth explain how blue was found? Do you think this story could be true?
|
| • |
Why were people enslaved to help the wealthy make blue dye? (economics example opportunity: When something is valuable, some people will exploit others to make more of it)
|
| • |
We use the word “blue” to describe emotions and music…how does “blue” make you feel?
|
| Craft ideas: |
| • |
Cut shapes of your favorite “blue” items and tape/glue them onto a black background to create bold art
ideas: snails, butteflies, rocks, test tubes… the ocean!; or
|
| • |
Cut shapes of your favorite things out of different colors of paper to show where your find these items
|
| • |
Draw a landscape using pencil on white paper, then color only the things that are blue
|
| • |
"National” days to celebrate with a craft in September: Chocolate Milkshake Day 9/12, Grandparents Day
9/13, Cheeseburger Day 9/18, Pepperoni Pizza Day 9/20
|
| Special activities: |
| • |
Prepare for National “Talk Like A Pirate Day” (9/19) by telling a short pirate story while talking like a pirate. “Arrrrrgh, Shiverrrr me timberrrrrrs!” “Rrrrrright!, rrrelease my rrrrusty sworrrrd!”
|
*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don't have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!
|
