Mónica — known to everyone as Minimoni — likes painting thousands things in colour: blue skies, penguins, gorillas… but she's never painted a kiss. Because… what colour is a kiss? Red like the tomato sauce for spaghetti? Maybe not, because that's the colour of anger… And what about green, like the crocodiles she loves so much? Hmm… definitely not! That's the colour of vegetables and she doesn't like eating them. So? Happily Mum finally solves the problem.
De quin color són els besos?” is a beautifully illustrated picture book by illustrator Rocio Bonilla… Aimed at children between around 3-5 years old, the book is an entertaining and attractive trip through the colours, with all their connotations accompanied by the character of little Monica.
The story starts with an introduction to the character of Mónica, known as Minimoni, and her likes and dislikes. However, very quickly we learn that what Minimoni likes most in the world is to draw and paint. But she has one big problem – she doesn’t know how to paint a kiss, she doesn’t know what colour a kiss would be. From then on she talks us through all the possible colours that she could make her kisses.
The strength of this book lies very firmly in the illustrations which perfectly accompany the text and, not only bring every word to life, but add character and depth to the story. Minimoni is a strong, appealing character, with the perfect balance of cuteness and personality. The descriptions of the colours are funny and varied with examples of foods, both good and bad, natural images, emotions, a series of larger than life animals and even a couple of monsters
… as a read-aloud title this book would work very well in translation. For the younger end of the age group there is enough to talk about in the images on each page, as well as the text, from the likes and dislikes to the pictures which could be discussed in terms of what the child can see. For an older child within the age bracket, the book could be used to discuss other things they can think of for each colour, or other associations in terms of emotions. The open ending which asks “what colour are your kisses?” also offers a chance for discussion as the book finishes, but also the perfect way to send a child off to sleep with a goodnight kiss. .. this title would stand out due to quality and originality of the illustrations. The character of Minimoni is also a particular strength and one that would draw a readership and allow the story to travel across cultures
From the reader´s report by Jennifer Arnold