A Roman frieze? How are kids supposed to know what that means? (A frieze is a set of up and down decorative bands that sometimes served as decorations on the horizontal surface above Roman columns in their architecture.) Another rhyme refers to Big and Little Tamir (from Alegría) sitting "straight as a skittle." Not exactly sure what she means by putting those into her text, perhaps to get kids running to the dictionary. I sure had to. (Skittle, by the way, is the term coined for a pin used in a British game of ninepins, which is played by rolling a wooden ball toward a set of objects – the skittles – in order to knock over as many as possible.)

"They're angels! / Good heavens! / I say, bless their noses! / They're rich, ruby RED / like the fanciest roses!"

Robertson also focuses on the personas and color-coordinated outfits of "Mr. Red Pierrot! / He's upside down! / An acrobat (and not a clown)" and "Ooh-la-la Monsieur Fleur! / So florally fabulous (full of allure...)." Red Pierrot leans on his shoulder in a diagonal headstand, attired in a scarlet skull cap and orange robes, while the smirking Monsieur Fleur gets a close-up, wearing a top hat and beaded vest. Robertson also introduces groups like the Water Nymphs, who stand on each other's shoulders to form a tower ("A perfect balance! / Green on Green!"), the Mafioso is "all clad in a feathery Purple-y fuzz,” and the leaping Baroques, in sans-culottes garb with frizzy wigs ("Red hot! And popping pink! / The Baroques are rash, / and they love to clash").

The Musicians are in white and the Singer wears black ("Boom di boom! / Twang twang! / Toot toot! Strum ho! / For our delight, / they start the show! / Look! Here they come! / Oh, there they go... / A symphony in WHITE.") while the Zebras are striped ("Oh me, oh my! / What's this? What's that? / Not one, not two, not merely a third, / So many together as a heard, / Dressed both in BLACK and also WHITE, / so a la mode / and stripedly right... / (for zebras anyway...)) and the Baron adds only a bit of red to his costume (La di dah! / Voila! / The Baron! / BLACK and WHITE / are the colors he loves. / But since he's dramatic / and somewhat brash, / He likes to add a spicy dash / of RED).

However, most of the pictures blaze with showy, almost kaleidoscopic color. Red Pierrot is dressed with orange, as is Le Dandy. And then there is the Bronx.

"Oh yes! Here are the Bronx! / A confident crew / Decked out in GOLD / from helmet to shoe! / And though their armor is quite rich / It's scritchy-scratchy / and makes 'em itch!"

Robertson even does a little color blending, as when Dreamer & Ringmaster, in BLUE and YELLOW, sit on a cape of GREEN. In some of the photos, bodies appear to be in motion; as the beret-capped "La Gar onne" skips rope or the Asian-inspired "Yao" waves his patterned flag, their movements are captured in a gauzy blur. More often, the actors freeze in place, allowing for careful inspection of their makeup, glitter and accessories, but not displaying their physical skill and timing.

As a colors book, this pictorial parade treats that theme in only the most cursory fashion. Young circus fans may find themselves wondering where the clowns and tightropes are-this book seems to be presuming the audience's familiarity with the Cirque du Soleil, rather than kindling an interest in it. What might interest Cirque fans most, other than possessing something you can use to indoctrinate your children into the world of Cirque, are some of the pictures which are not the set standard images of these characters one usually gets from Cirque. Some of these seem to be from the same sessions but have different poses. In any event the pictures are crisp and clear. Also, the full character names are given which is a nice touch.

If you have a child that likes picture books, this is a good (if a bit quirky) introduction to colors and Cirque. It's always best to start kids young. And exquisite photos of the performers, adequate rhyme, and a color connection result in a book that will appeal mainly to Cirque fans.