HELLO, RED FOX

Carle (From Head to Toe, 1997) asks readers to engage in optical illusions to view his illustrations for a story that becomes an unforgettable lesson in complementary colors. By staring at a picture—e.g., the green fox on the cover- -for ten seconds or longer, and then looking at a blank page, the picture reappears, in this case, the red fox of the title. The end papers feature helpful color circles so readers can locate colors and thus their complements. The story is minimal: As the animal guests arrive at Little Frog's birthday party, they appear to Mama Frog to be the wrong color—for example, Yellow Bird is purple—until Little Frog teaches her the trick. Although it may take children time to master the gimmick (and the ghostly after- image, without the details of the original picture, may not meet their expectations), the ending neatly wraps this visual tale, with Mama Frog's kiss transforming the green Little Frog to blushing red. (Picture book. 2-5)