From the very beginning, we spoke in colour – naming what we saw, describing shades, pointing things out. I truly believe that, beyond how his mind is wired, this early, everyday language is what helped Roman connect with colour so deeply and so fast.
13–20 minutes
Among Roman’s early interests, colours stood out clearly and consistently.
By 13 months, he was naming colours with ease – not just primary and secondary colours, but also others like pink, brown, grey, white, black, gold and silver. It was one of the most noticeable things in daily life: colours in books, on clothes, in toys, walls, food, cars, all labelled confidently. At 15 months, he chose a favourite – green – and now at 2 years and 8 months, green remains a constant, joined by white, brown, silver, and gold!
When do children typically start recognising colours?
It varies, of course, but having a general sense of what’s expected can be reassuring, especially in the early years. I put together this chart based on common early childhood development references and a bit of digging through trusted sources. It’s not a checklist, just a gentle guide:
As interest in colours deepened, we followed Roman’s lead and began gently introducing related concepts:
- primary, secondary and tertiary colours on the colour wheel;
- colour mixing;
- rainbow colours;
- complementary colours;
- tints and shades;
- optical illusions;
- patterns which lead to sequencing;
- pigment-based v light-based colour models;
- shadows; and
- colour blindness (simply because the questions naturally arose).
Now, Roman can confidently tell you the distinction between burnt sienna and terracotta, teal and turquoise. He can also name colours in multiple languages, sometimes switching between English, Mandarin and German without skipping a beat. His interest hasn’t faded. If anything, it’s become more refined. I’d like to think we supported that love well – not by pushing, but by facilitating.
Below is a list of books (page 1), toys (page 2) and activities (page 3) that supported this interest, including notes on why Roman enjoyed each one.
P/s: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases from Amazon.
📚 Books We Love About Colours (⚠️ there’s a lot…)
We got them from Amazon UK, though the exact set is no longer available there, it’s still available on Amazon US. At that age, Roman loved the gentle crinkly sound, which added a lovely sensory layer to the bright colours and simple illustrations. We were reading and talking about colours from the very beginning.
We’d simply say things like “look at that pink ball” or “red book” – even though I’ve seen suggestions to phrase it differently, like “that car is pink.” We didn’t do that and it certainly didn’t hold anything back.
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They’re just the right size for little hands and Roman loved them then (and still occasionally pulls them out now). Each set has something special that’s stuck with him:
🍯Winnie the Pooh Pocket Library
Gently written with soft illustrations.
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👉 Order Winnie the Pooh Pocket Library on Amazon 🇺🇸
🐰 Peter Rabbit Little Library
This one made it to our collection because Roman has a long-standing love for bunnies and the Beatrix Potter characters.
👉 Order Peter Rabbit Little Library on Amazon 🇬🇧
👉 Order Peter Rabbit Little Library on Amazon 🇺🇸
🐿️ Tales from Acorn Wood Little Library
He’s adored this series from the start – the characters are familiar favourites and the colours book fits right in with the counting and friendship themes.
👉 Order Tales from Acorn Wood Little Library on Amazon 🇬🇧
👉 Order Tales from Acorn Wood Little Library on Amazon 🇺🇸
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🐾 The Gruffalo Little Library
Of course, he loved this one – it’s The Gruffalo!
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👉 Order The Gruffalo Little Library on Amazon 🇺🇸
One of the earliest sets we had – the World of Eric Carle 12 board books have been well-loved from the very beginning. This 12-book set is perfect for introducing little ones to first concepts through Eric Carle’s signature illustrations. Among them is a lovely little book on colours – simple, vibrant and a joy to revisit.
👉 Order the World of Eric Carle 12 board books on Amazon 🇬🇧
👉 Order the World of Eric Carle 12 board books on Amazon 🇺🇸
It’s similar in format to the World of Eric Carle 12 board books above, with 12 sturdy little books perfectly sized for small hands. While the set isn’t entirely about colour, one of the books is focused on colours and many of the others are filled with bold backgrounds and bright visuals, which naturally invited colour talk and pointing things out.
We had this from around age one and Roman quickly became familiar with the characters. He particularly loves the one about Shapes.
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👉 Order Disney Junior Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 12-Book Set on Amazon 🇺🇸
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👉 Order Mixed by Arree Chung on Amazon 🇺🇸
A hands-on favourite that turns reading into doing, Mix It Up! is one of those books that’s been read (and poked, tapped, tilted and shaken) more times than I can count.
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👉 Order Mix It Up! on Amazon 🇺🇸
We found Twister: Right Hand Here in a little farm shop during an apple festival, and I’ve honestly not seen it anywhere else since. It’s a fun and physical way to explore colours, movement and orientation – even involving noses and elbows!
It encourages children to follow steps and instructions, introduces basic left-right awareness and even has a little colour mixing along the way. A fun, playful way to build early thinking skills and a perfect pre-introduction to the classic Twister game. Roman absolutely loves this one. 🔴🟡🟢🔵
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👉 Order Twister: Right Hand Here on Amazon 🇺🇸
Each page explores colour through real flowers, blending shades, naming beautiful blooms and hiding little creatures like butterflies and insects for children to find.
It’s calming, engaging and Montessori-aligned in all the right ways. 🌿🌸🦋
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👉 Order Rainbows in Bloom on Amazon 🇺🇸
It’s not realistic like Rainbows in Bloom, but it’s a visual delight – bold, interactive and playful. Definitely one to own in the library. ✂️📖
👉 Order Colours, Colours Everywhere on Amazon 🇬🇧
👉 Order Colours, Colours Everywhere on Amazon 🇺🇸
This collection of Dr. Seuss books originally belonged to Mason and we’ve had them since the day Roman was born. They’ve been firm favourites ever since – full of rhythm, rhyme and playful language that supports early literacy in the most joyful way.
Hop on Pop was actually one of the first books Roman read on his own (he started reading at 18 months – but that’s a post for another day). From Fox in Socks to One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, there are splashes of colour here and there – though it’s really the language that shines.
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👉 Order The Wonderful World of Dr. Seuss on Amazon 🇺🇸
It covers a wide range of early learning topics, including a simple colours page (which I’ve included above with the cover photo). The layout is bright, clear and easy to engage with (using real images). Ideal for short moments of pointing, naming and chatting together.
We used it most when Roman was around one and it gave me ideas of what to introduce next. We’ve since grown out of it but it served its purpose well as a gentle guide in those early toddler months.
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👉 Order The Toddler’s Big Book of Everything on Amazon 🇺🇸
It explains the colours of the sky in a simple, accessible way that’s easy for young children to grasp, yet still leaves room for wonder – like just how big the sky might be.
It’s a lovely early introduction to the idea that light creates colour differently than paint or pigment. And yes, that means the primary colours of light aren’t the same as those we mix with crayons. This book led us straight into that conversation and it’s stayed with Roman ever since. A thoughtful, engaging pick for curious little minds who ask why – often and with intensity. ☁️💙
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It features 9 basic colours with 20 carefully selected shades of each – all labelled with their official Pantone names and numbers. Roman finds this part especially fascinating and it’s sparked so many great conversations.
It’s a beautifully designed, minimalist book that’s perfect for exploring colour depth and variation in a more structured, visual way.
👉 Order the Pantone Colours on Amazon 🇬🇧
👉 Order the Pantone Colours on Amazon 🇺🇸
It talks about emotions, descriptive words and even has a spinnable colour wheel to show complementary colour pairs. If you’re looking to take colour learning to the next level, this is definitely the upgrade.
👉 Order The Usborne Big Book of Colours on Amazon 🇬🇧
👉 Order The Usborne Big Book of Colours on Amazon 🇺🇸
This set of crayon books is a firm favourite in our home.
They’re silly and expressive. Definitely a must-have if your child enjoys character-led stories with humour and heart.
🖍️ The Day the Crayons Quit
The original classic – each crayon writes a letter to Duncan explaining why they’ve had enough. Funny, imaginative and full of personality.
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👉 Order The Day the Crayons Quit on Amazon 🇺🇸
🖍️ The Day the Crayons Came Home
A playful sequel where lost or broken crayons send postcards from odd places they’ve ended up – from under the sofa to being melted in the sun.
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👉 Order The Day the Crayons Came Home on Amazon 🇺🇸
🖍️ The Crayons Go Back to School
A short and simple back-to-school board book that’s perfect for younger readers. Still funny, still full of character.
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👉 Order The Crayons Go Back to School on Amazon 🇺🇸
🖍️ Happy Mother’s Day from the Crayons
Sweet and cheeky – a mix of classic crayon humour with some lovely messages. This was one of my Mother’s Day gifts from Roman this year.
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👉 Order Happy Mother’s Day from the Crayons on Amazon 🇺🇸
He knows all the songs by heart, recognises the characters by voice and delights in naming their tones. The songs are played regularly on Spotify in our home, often on repeat. Yes, he knows the lyrics to all of them.
The annual includes familiar scenes from the series and has only deepened his love for colour.
Although we did zero screen time from birth to 2.5 (aside from the odd Hey Bear video during infancy before I knew better), we’ve now introduced short Colourblocks episodes on BBC iPlayer – they’re around five minutes an episode. It’s so well made. The concepts are solid, the visuals are clever and it beautifully supports the learning he’s already drawn to.
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👉 Order Colourblocks 2025 Official Annual on Amazon 🇺🇸
It’s packed with simple colouring pages, matching activities and loads of stickers, all featuring the familiar Colourblocks characters Roman loves. The tasks are quite simple and he breezed through them quickly, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying it while it lasted.
It’s massive in size, visually engaging and offers great value for money – especially if your child enjoys character-led learning and sticker play.
The book includes a simple story, along with QR codes that play cheering sounds from the Numberblocks characters which Roman absolutely loves. While it doesn’t focus on colours directly, it introduces repeating patterns like AB, AAB and ABC, etc. in a way that’s fun, visual and intuitive. It’s a natural next step from colour sorting and with Roman’s love for Numberblocks, it was an instant hit.
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👉 Order Numberblocks Pattern Palace on Amazon 🇺🇸
We have the hardcover pop-up edition, where each page opens into an origami-like fold – beautifully layered and sculpted to match the feeling being explored. It’s tactile and visual, with each emotion linked to a specific colour (yellow for happiness, green for calm and so on).
I still remember the first time we read it – when we got to the pink page, it didn’t say what the feeling was and Roman, without hesitation, said “That one means feeling loved.”
Now, when we ask how he’s feeling, he would mostly say “I’m feeling pink, yellow and green” and we know exactly what he means. It’s such a gentle, thoughtful way to build emotional vocabulary. While it’s technically a book about feelings, it’s also become part of our colour journey.
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👉 Order The Colour Monster on Amazon 🇺🇸
It’s a playful, interactive book that shows how mistakes – a torn page, a spill, a scribble -can be transformed into something wonderful. Roman was fascinated by the flaps, folds and pop-outs and we’ve had some lovely conversations about how imperfections are part of the process not something to fear.
The colours are bold and expressive and while it’s not teaching colour theory, it’s deeply tied to creativity, flexibility and seeing beauty in the unexpected, all of which feel right at home in our colour journey. A wonderful reminder that art doesn’t have to be perfect to be meaningful.
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👉 Order Beautiful Opps on Amazon 🇺🇸
It’s not a children’s book, but the layout is simple and visual enough to explore with a curious little one. We started flipping through it together casually and over time, Roman became fascinated by the different styles, brushwork and tones – not just the colours themselves, but how they’re used.
Now, he can recognise works of artists like Monet and Van Gogh by sight. This book sparked so many of those observations, from the light in an impressionist garden to the swirl of colour in a starry sky.
A beautiful introduction to art history, even for very young eyes. 🎨🖼️
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👉 Order The Paintings That Revolutionised Art on Amazon 🇺🇸
It originally belonged to Mason and you can tell just by looking at the cover how many times it’s been opened, thumbed through and returned to. It’s worn in all the right ways. This book contains a wealth of Monet’s paintings, offering a comprehensive look at his work. Roman loves looking at the artwork in this book, and it’s evident how much it’s been loved over time.
Everything I’ve shared so far comes from our own collection – books we’ve read, loved and returned to often. If I remember anything I’ve forgotten or come across something new that fits, I’ll be sure to update this space.
From stories on the shelf to the toys and manipulatives – here’s what we’ve used to explore colour in play.
✨ Click over to Page 2 to see more.
The Children Chapter 
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