This gorgeous celebration of the color blue and the indigo plant, by a Korean American debut artist and storyteller, powerfully connects art and the natural world.

With lavish mixed-media art including watercolor painting and hand-dyed textiles, debut author-illustrator Rosa Chang pays tribute to the science and art of growing the indigo plant and making indigo dye. Woven throughout is a poetic tribute to the color blue, Chang’s favorite since her girlhood in Korea, and an appreciation of the indigo plant as a valued source of blue dye in cultures around the world. Informative back matter tells more about the science behind indigo dye production, with an “indigo map” of the shades of blue produced by indigo around the world, and simple instructions for growing your own indigo plants and making homemade blue dye.

Rosa Sung Ji Chang 장성지 is a Korean-born visual artist, natural indigo dyer, and storyteller based in New York and Baltimore. A graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art and the School of Visual Arts, New York, Rosa has had work exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Paula Cooper Gallery, among many others. This is her debut picture book.