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Essay on Dr. Seuss's My Many Colored Days
Thirty years ago, Dr. Seuss wrote this active rhyming verse connecting colors with moods and feelings. The new illustrations are glowing and lively; for each color, a different animal jumps with energy. Pink flamingos dance; a bright red horse kicks its heels; a green fish glides quietly. Why, though, in a book for children, are brown and black only associated with sadness and anger? Would Dr. Seuss have written this today? In the words of Langston Hughes, "The night is beautiful / So the faces of my people." (Donahue, page 5)
Pairing emotions with colors is nothing new to poetry (e.g., Mary O'Neill's Hailstones and Halibut Bones), but pairing impressionistic full-color paintings to the text of Dr. Seuss is a first. His formerly unpublished manuscript becomes the basis for a simple color concept book; children will easily identify primary colors and enter into the feeling and mood depicted by the creature in every spread: ``On Bright Red Days/how good it feels/to be a horse/and kick my heels!'' Broad strokes of thick paint on canvas create basic forms with texture, sometimes dark and weighty, sometimes bold and breezy. Those who can set aside preconceived expectations--there is no butter-side-up Seuss here--will find that some of the spreads gracefully elevate poetry that often has feet but no wings. (Donahue, page 5)
The illustrations in the book are nearly perfect artistic creations to match Seuss' particular mood he is trying to convey with the message that you will be a different type person sometimes depending on the day and mood. The colors are bright and intriguing reminding me of a mix between Marc Chagall and Keith Haring. A common favorite is the description of purple days, "On Purple Days I'm sad. I groan. I drag my tail. I walk alone."................
