by 
The Boy Who Saw In Colours
by Lauren Robinson
Know More
What if colours could speak?
The Boy Who Saw In Colours: A raw novel, set amid Nazi uprising, chronicles the life of a boy who dared to dream…
As his family collapses and Josef and his brother are sent to one of Hitler’s elite schools, Josef learns to express his grief and feelings of growing up in the only way he knows how – painting.
A Word from the Author
The question “where did I get my inspiration?” cannot be easily explained.
It came in pieces.
The first was a photograph I saw when I was back in high school, depicting a young boy crying when he was captured towards the end of Ww2. Why was he crying? What did he see? What was he told? Even at a young age, I came to a realisation: Hate preys on the fragile and young, and history is always repeating itself. It’s still relevant today and a part of history everyone should know about. The German children lived in a world where bravado misplaced true bravery and love was replaced with loyalty. They did not deserve to be taken in by hatred. We are so quick to judge what we cannot reasonably fathom.
When I wrote, it was not my job to condemn characters like Erick Kröger and congratulate Josef. It was merely my job my write them in a way that made them feel like they could be our friends.
Above all of that, #TheBoyWhoSawInColours follows the life of a young boy who dared to dream under the constraints of 1940 Germany. One of the core messages is to be your true self despite what society thinks. And it’s a message that today’s young people desperately need to hear.
Gender stereotypes are still harming young people. As a society, we need to be more positive, inclusive, and attainable in setting out what it means to be a young person moving into adulthood.
(Lauren Robinson, May 2020)