Monsters Love Colors & Basel Mural I

Featured Book: Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
Featured Artwork: Basel Mural I by Sam Francis

In Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin, monsters scribble, mix and mash to create their favorite colors!

Artist Sam Francis (American, 1923–1994) also mixed colors to make new ones. Looking at Basel Mural I, what colors do you see? Do you see where he mixed yellow and blue to make green, red and blue to make purple, and red and yellow to make orange?

You can explore paint colors, too! Using a sealable plastic storage bag, put in a small amount of red, yellow and blue paint. Tape the bag down onto a flat surface and move the paint around in the bag. What happens when the colors touch? What new colors do you see? 

Experiment with paint or coloring materials to discover the many colors you can create!

If you don’t have access to the featured book, select something similar from your child’s book shelf or your local library. Many of the books are also available as read-aloud videos online.