Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews:
“…A straightforward story of tractors, colors, and common understanding.” - Kirkus Reviews
Bartel delivers an illustrated children’s book that introduces colors and farm equipment in a unique way.
Jesse is a young boy who, like many kids, loves things with wheels—especially tractors. This story, which features full-color cartoon illustrations by Thompson, teaches colors by using examples of real-life tractor brands that are green, blue, or red and naming other objects that share each color. Jesse’s mom’s green tractor matches the hue of cucumbers and summer leaves; the blue tractor that his uncle drives shares the color of blueberries; and the red tractor that Jesse’s neighbor drives recalls tomatoes and a stop sign. As a result, Jesse refers to objects that aren’t tractors with familiar tractor brand names; this causes confusion when he attends school and mistakenly describes grass as “John Deere,” for example, and a river as “Ford.” After an entire day of this, Jesse hatches a plan and asks his loved ones to drive their tractors to school for his classmates to see. Once the rest of Jesse’s classmates and his teacher make the connection, they understand why he was naming colors in such odd ways the day before. Their bafflement vanishes, and young readers will come away from the tale understanding that sometimes a person will make unusual associations that may require clarification. The author uses the term sour beer in several places when referring to ginger ale, and many readers may be unfamiliar with this terminology; however, this aspect fits the book’s message, intentionally or not. The illustrations portray Jesse and his family as light-skinned, while Jesse’s classmates and other characters are depicted with a diverse range of skin tones.
A straightforward story of tractors, colors, and common understanding. - Kirkus Reviews
Instagram Reviews:
Erica and Jaime Wilson @tailesfromwestport
Dairy farmers from Port Perry, ON (post)
It’s the perfect book for kids interested in anything to do with big equipment and tractors! A great message that’s relatable, about being your own person and how we all perceive things in our own way!
2, Stephanie Lee Stephenson @stephanieleestephenson
Simcoe County ON photographer (post)
A wonderful read for our little farm kids - The Colors Jesse Sees. A fun, immersive book that we can relate well to!
Written by the lovely @bobbartel.books - our kids love this book and will for years to come.
3. stephanie elskamp @pickofthebirds
Woodlands, MB Birdfeed farmer (email)
Thank you for sending me your book! My kids absolutely loved it! You even had one of my boys laughing hard as he’s in Kindergarten himself and loves farming more than anything! This book just spoke to him!
This is an absolutely wonderful childrens book!! It’s about a little boy on a farm and how he learned all of his colors! It’s beautifully written, nicely illustrated, fun to read and even had all the kids giggling! As farmers ourselves, this book has become one of our favourites! Steph E.
4. Karen @thebubblygoat
Norwich, ON Farmer and Soapmaker
I was gifted this book by @bobbartel.books after Maddy was born. The kids love it and think it’s funny! Reading books in homeschooling has been one of our favourite things to do, especially tractor books like this one!
5. EVANjOHNSON - sASKATCHEWAN rOUGHRIDERS
I want to sincerely thank you for sending me a copy of your book “The Colors Jesses Sees”. It came at such a great time as my son, Maverick, loves everything tractors, trucks, and buses. The book I brought it home we read it countless times, both at bedtime and during the day. His grandparents live and work on the family farm, and he gets excited anytime he can go up there and see all the tractors and trucks.
We recently welcomed our second son and we are looking forward to sharing your book with him as well.
Please accept this pair of signed player cards as a token of my appreciation.
Sincerely,
Evan Johnson 64