14 May Board Game & Book Pairings: Colorful Delights!
It’s almost time for our Summer Reading Club’s June 2 kickoff, and we’re getting excited! This year’s theme is “Color Our World,” so we’re turning to parts of the collection with bright & colorful art-related items. And don’t forget to check out www.plainfieldlibrary.net/summerreading, where you can register for the Summer Reading Club and get details on reading logs, launch parties for teens and children/families, and other FAQs.
Board Game: Azul, designed by Michael Kiesling with art by Philippe Guérin and Chris Quilliams, is a game of bright tiles based on the interiors of historical palaces. Create beautiful patterns without wasting tiles to win!
-
- Players: 2-4
- Playing time: 30-45 minutes
- Age: 8+
- From Boardgamegeek: “Introduced by the Moors, azulejos (originally white and blue ceramic tiles) were fully embraced by the Portuguese when their king Manuel I, on a visit to the Alhambra palace in Southern Spain, was mesmerized by the stunning beauty of the Moorish decorative tiles. The king, awestruck by the interior beauty of the Alhambra, immediately ordered that his own palace in Portugal be decorated with similar wall tiles. As a tile-laying artist, you have been challenged to embellish the walls of the Royal Palace of Evora.
“In Azul, players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they’ve placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player’s score. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.” (description via https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230802/azul)
Book: The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair draws on science and history to amplify the colors we see every day without noticing!
Book:From the publisher: “The Secret Lives of Color tells the unusual stories of seventy-five fascinating shades, dyes, and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso’s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history.
“In this book, Kassia St. Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colors and where they come from (whether Van Gogh’s chrome yellow sunflowers or punk’s fluorescent pink) into a unique study of human civilization. Across fashion and politics, art and war, the secret lives of color tell the vivid story of our culture.” (description via https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/552503/the-secret-lives-of-color-by-kassia-st-clair/)
Bonus: If you’re feeling artistic with all this talk about colors, check out our Bob Ross DVDs for inspiration! On our shelves, we have Bob Ross: Grandeur of Summer, Bob Ross: Summer Reflections, Bob Ross: Seascape with Lighthouse, and Bob Ross: Autumn Stream.
