Common Sense Media Review
By Tracy Moore
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Delightful, sweet story celebrates independence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 2+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
This insistent toddler's mom doesn't quite understand her. You see, she loves the color red -- her red stockings help her jump higher, her red jacket allows her to be Little Red Riding Hood, her red barrettes make her hair laugh. Mom might keep suggesting the warmer blankets, warmer coats, and less hole-filled mittens, but red will always be better, because red is best.
Is It Any Good?
RED IS BEST is a Canadian classic, and this 25th-year reissue and board-book edition is proof of its staying power. Here's a simple tale about toddler whims any parent has surely faced -- the insistence on this cup, that pencil, this blanket, that toy. But instead of treating such preferences as an annoyance, Red Is Best, with its pitch-perfect toddler voice and delicately expressive pen, ink, and paint illustrations, celebrates them as a critical part of individuality and autonomy in a toddler's need to assert herself. It may not always make sense to parents, but this book shows both points of view as equally valid, something any red-loving toddler and warm-coat-insisting mother will relate to.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about red. What do you like (or not like) about red? Is it your favorite color? If so, why?
What are your favorite shoes? Why do you like them more than the others?
Do you have barrettes that make your hair laugh? Or a color that puts singing in your head?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Robin Baird Lewis
- Genre : Board
- Topics : Adventures
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Annick Press
- Publication date : June 2, 2011
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 2 - 4
- Number of pages : 26
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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