The Great Blueness and Other Predicaments

Author: Arnold Lobel
Plot Summary: A wizard introduces color into the world, with varying effect on his neighbors.
Posted In: Aesthetics, Metaphysics
Discussion Questions
  • Do you think that there was a time when there was no color in the world?
  • How did color come to be?
  • Is color real?
  • Do we see the same colors? Does the color red look the same to everyone? How would we know?
  • If something is red, can it also be blue? Can it be pink? Maroon?
  • Is the color green made up of blue and yellow? If so, is all green is blue and yellow? Or is it something in itself?
  • Would the world be different if it were made up of different colors? Draw a world with colors unlike the ones in our world.
  • Does color make you feel a certain way? How?
  • If you get out a flashlight and shine it on the grass, and it looks green, does that mean that the grass stayed green in the dark?

Are things different colors at night? Think about what colors the following things are during the day and at night:

Daytime Night
Grass
The sky
A tulip
The rug in your room
Your hair
The blanket on your bed
A tree
Snow