The Other Colors: An ABC Book

Do you know what the colors gamboge, zaffre, and debian look like? Then travel through the alphabet with The Other Colors to learn about the beautiful and unusually named colors found in nature—and to brush up on those ABCs as well. Valerie Gates's charming alliterative style paired with Ann Cutting's stunning photographs of colors found in nature—ecru eggs, scarlet scallops, fandango feathers, limerick lizards, azure abalones, and more—are sure to delight artsy children and adults alike.

Children who have mastered classic colors will broaden their horizons, and parents who are tired of primary colors will find this a book worth rereading. Spectacular photographs of animals, flowers, leaves, shells, and more will inspire children to learn about different colors found in the natural world. And, while children learn about colors, they are also learning the alphabet through subtle and silly sentences. An ideal gift for new parents and for young nature-loving children!

Valerie Gates is an Emmy award-winning art director. Working with off-beat colors every day, she wanted to create a book that introduced some of the cool alternative colors into the primary color world of children's books. She teamed up with her good friend of many years, photographer Ann Cutting, to produce this whimsical book that will appeal to all ages. Her favorite color in the book is byzantine. Gates lives in a Xanadu house with chartreuse chairs with her husband and two children, and a large taupe cat named George.Ann Cutting, an award-winning conceptual photographer, earned a BA in biochemistry and cell biology from the UCSD and a BFA in photography from the Art Center College of Design. She is on the faculty at Art Center, teaches many workshops, and uses multiple photographic techniques including digital, toy, and large format cameras. She also likes to do science experiments with her kids, sail in Maine, and make ceramics. Her favorite color in the book is wisteria, because it smells so good.