Review: Out Of The Blue, by Robert Tregoning and Stef Murphy

Blurb

ONLY BLUE ALLOWED, by Blue government demand. Anything that isn’t blue, by colour law, is banned.

In a very blue house on a very blue street, sits a little boy who feels as blue as the world around him. For this little boy has a BIG secret: he loves the colour yellow.

In a world where only one colour is allowed, will he be brave enough to tell his dad? And will they be able to defy the rules and create a world where EVERY colour is welcome?

One boy and his dad are about to come OUT OF THE BLUE and into life in technicolour!

A stunning celebration of being yourself and living in ALL the colours of the rainbow, from debut author Robert Tregoning and rising star illustrator Stef Murphy. Championing difference, diversity and pride, this gloriously illustrated picture book is perfect for fans of Perfectly Norman, Grandad’s Camper and Julian Is a Mermaid.

My Review

Thanks to Bee for organising this tour and to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book.

A boy lives in a world where the only colour allowed is blue, but he loves yellow. He’s afraid loving yellow is bad but he secretly collects yellow things. One day his dad finds his collection. And paints their house yellow. This sets off a chain reaction and before long their entire town is brightly coloured in a rainbow of shades.

As someone, like the author Robert Tregoning, who grew up in the 90s, when Section 28 prevented schools from discussing anything but heterosexual relationships and sexuality, I got the allegory straight away. The blue party are once again in control (and have been for 12 years!) and are trying to force cisheteronormativity on us all again. See the GRR Act from Scotland and the Westminster’s attempt to interfere in Scottish democracy. Back in the 80s and 90s, they tried to stop non-hetero people from existing by not allowing education or information.

Didn’t work, obviously. All it did was leave us ignorant, scared and in denial.

The message of this book is that in a world that demands compliance with confirmatively, don’t be afraid to push back and be yourself. There is nothing wrong with loving yellow, or being a different gender from your sex assigned at birth, or loving people of your own gender or none, or being gender non-confirming, of being neurodivergent, etc. You might think everyone will hate you, but there’s a good chance the people around you also want to change things. When everyone is themselves the world is a much more colourful and interesting place to be.

Kids need to learn this. This book is a good way to introduce the idea to the young.

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Author Information

Robert Tregoning studied at the Glasgow School of Art before leaping in to a career on the West End stage. He has appeared in stage shows including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes, and the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Matilda the Musical.

As an LGBTQ+ writer, Robert hopes to help children and adults alike to accept and celebrate all that makes us uniquely ourselves. The stories Robert writes are stories he wishes he could have read as a child. He hopes they provide a voice of recognition, validation and kindness to those who need it.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/bobtregoning

Instagram: http://instagram.com/bobtregoning

Illustrator Information

Stef Murphy is a freelance illustrator and storyteller living in London. She loves drawing animals and making up stories, and she has illustrated books including The Fire Fox by Alexandra Page. Out of the Blue is her first book for Bloomsbury.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/stefmurphyart

Instagram: http://instagram.com/stefmurf