Kevin the Orange by Alan Windram and Olla Meyzinger

As the title suggests, Kevin is an orange. He is round and orangey; in fact he is one of the orangiest oranges ever. But he’s not happy. He’s had enough of being orange and wants to be blue instead. So he goes to talk to his friend Brian who is a pear and very wise. You can tell this because he’s reading a book as all wise people do. If I were Brian, I’d be irritated by the interruption, but Brian is kinder than I am.

From his wealth of general knowledge (almost certainly from all the books he’s read), Brian tells Kevin that the best way of becoming blue is to go to the North Pole and sit there in the snow for a while. That will certainly work. So Kevin trudges off northwards and arrives at the Pole where, by the looks of it, he meets loads of new friends. The only problem is that sitting in the snow makes him very, very, VERY cold. This makes Kevin think he’d rather be red (it seems hotter) than blue. So off he goes back to Brian to find out out how to achieve that. Again Brian can help, but red isn’t as much fun as Kevin thought it would be (it makes him go yellow and green!). He gives that up then tries pink and purple and white before realising that he actually does like being orange.

Kevin and Brian are wonderful characters, full of life and personality. Olla Meyzinger illustrates them dynamically and with great expression, bringing Alan Windram’s story added vibrancy. His message in this fun little story, published by Little Door Books, is clear: be yourself. That’s always the best choice – and it’s always valid.