Pocket Full of Colors is the story of Mary Blair and a colorful life

Some books arrive at the office and immediately draw me in. It doesn’t happen often, especially with authors or artists that I’m not already a fan of. Maybe three times a year do I receive an unknown book that so completely floors me that I’ll talk about the book to other adults? Pocket Full of Colors by Amy Guglielmo & Jacqueline Tourville with illustrations by Brigette Barrager is that book for us now.

 

Pocket Full of Colors has a couple things going for it even before you open it. It is huge. It’s a standard, rectangular, almost square book that you’ve seen other children’s books, but this is different level big. If there was a category or coffee table children’s book then this would be front and center. The subtitle of the book, The Magical World of Mary Blair, Disney Artist Extraordinaire lets readers know that she’s an artist that used to work for Disney. The cover is a cornucopia of bright, magical things like castles, mermaids, animals and other brightly colored art deco things that are all coming from an artist’s work as she diligently sits there painting.

It’s the story of Mary Blair. Her family was moving to California and her world was becoming a bright spot, filled with hues and tones that the world wasn’t ready to accept. She meets her husband, Lee, but as it was the Great Depression, things just weren’t happening.  Blair was lucky to get a job at a new upstart company, Walt Disney Studios, where she was one of the first women Walt hired.

She brought in lots of colors that the existing artists weren’t used to using and they shot down some of her ideas. Blair was responsible for some of the key colors in Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, but got frustrated with the black lines and stiff suits who were constantly at odds with her style, so she left the company.

Blair got lots of gigs doing advertising work, children’s books and commercials. Walt reached out to her one day because he was building a ride that needed colors from all over the world. Mary and Walt had traveled the world together previously and she used many of those colors and themes into her greatest creation.

Even today, It’s a Small World is known to generations of people for its visual punch. Pocket full of Colors is a visual assault to readers as well. When Mary’s story is being established the colors and patterns are constrained. However, as the story moves along the colors scream off of the page as they fill in her ideas or allow readers to follow the paint lines.

The final two pages of Pocket Full of Colors are text dedicated to a brief history of Mary Blair. It’s a fascinating read for anybody who is interested in graphic design, a Disneyphile or those that need a primer in doing what you’re meant to do. Pocket Full of Colors is a book that you’ll keep for when your children have children. It’s too long to be a good-night book that you’ll read more than once. However, young readers in first or second grade will willingly jump into the pages and explore the story of a very talented artist.