What Color Is the Wind?

“We can’t see the wind, we hear what it brings. We can’t see the wind, we hear what it brings.”

Herbauts’ protagonist is a little giant who explores his world looking for an answer to his great big question by asking a variety of animals, “What color is the wind?” He first asks an old dog, who answers, “It has a color. It is pink, flowery, pale white.” A wolf disagrees, “ No, the wind is the dark smell of the forest.” The mountain also disagrees, “No, it is blue.” The town that the little giant passes through has an answer even more different than the animals. Wind is the color of “curtains, laundry, and clothes”.

Each time the little giant asks what color the wind is, he gets a unique answer. How could the wind be the color of all of those things? A wise, enormous giant has the answer for the little giant as well as an activity for readers to participate in. The illustrations demonstrate proper hand placement to get the full effect of the activity. 

What Color is the Wind, a sensory wonder, takes picture books to another level by making it an experience for children who can’t see. When the author was asked by a visually impaired child to describe what wind looked like, the author decided a book was the perfect answer. A sturdy thick paper was chosen for the fold-out front and back covers of the book, as well as a thick paper for the pages. The book is perfectly designed so that it can be repeatedly handled according to the activity children are invited to take part in. 

The book is designed to be a sensory experience no matter if there is a sight impairment or full use of the eyes. The vivid colors and the textures on every page are physically stimulating, meant to enhance the child’s opportunity to explore what wind might look like and feel like.

Using a variety of media, textures, and techniques, author and illustrator Anne Herbauts, takes children by the hand and gently guides them into nature, to experience what wind looks like.