Hello, Red Fox (Paperback)

by Eric Carle (Author, Illustrator) "Your birthday is coming up," said Mama Frog..." (more)
Key Phrases: Little Frog, Mama Frog

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Goethe (1749-1832) is celebrated as a great German poet, novelist, and philosopher. But in his eyes, color theory was his most significant achievement. In 1810 Goethe published Farbenlehre, naming three primary colors--red, blue, and yellow--from which all other colors could be made, and claiming that each color had an opposite, or complementary, color. But how does this relate to well-loved artist Eric Carle's Hello, Red Fox? Well, it's like this. On his special birthday, Little Frog's friends--Red Fox, Purple Butterfly, Orange Cat, and others--begin to arrive at his house for a party. Imagine Mama Frog's surprise when she perceives Red Fox as green, Purple Butterfly as yellow, and so on. Each time, Little Frog gently points out that she simply hasn't stared at each animal long enough to see his or her "true color."

At the beginning of the book, readers are instructed to stare for ten seconds at the boldly colored animal on the left side of the spread, then transfer their unblinking gaze (more like glaze at this point) to the blank white page on the right. If they do that successfully, a shadowy image of the animal appears in its complementary color! Young kids may think this is magic, but actually the phenomenon taking place between the eye and the brain is called "simultaneous contrast after-image." No matter what you call it, it's amazing and fun to behold! The story itself is simple and deliberately repetitive, appealing to very young children, but the optical illusions will be a hit with all ages. Carle's bold collage illustrations are perfect for this playful spin around the color wheel, which ends with the green Little Frog turning red when Mama Frog kisses him in front of all of his friends. (Ages 4 to 8). Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
"Carle offers a straightforward, repetitive text and minimalist cut-paper art to demonstrate Goethe's 19th-century color theory," said PW. Ages 2-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068984431X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689844317
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113,149 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #75 in	Books > Children's Books > Baby-3 > Carle, Eric
  #94 in	Books > Children's Books > Basic Concepts > Colors

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Colors, Colors, Colors!, July 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Hello Red Fox (Hardcover)

Hello, Red Fox provides an opportunity for young listeners and readers to actively engage in exploring and questioning their "great big world" of color. Eric Carle uses storytelling in a unique way and the early learner has visually rewarding fun with primary and complimentary colors in the process. Mama Frog begins the story with a question to Little Frog. Little Frog's response is the his list of guests for his birthday party. The young listeners and readers of this story discover they must use their listening skills and follow directions carefully to enjoy this story to its fullest! Their active participation allows them to view the visual color transformation of Little Frog's guests:Red Fox, Purple Butterfly, Orange Cat, Green Snake, Yellow Bird, Blue Fish, and White Dog with Black Spots.

Teacher Note: The young learner's exploration of colors in his/her world will take on new meaning. Some art center activities could include the following: Allow students to experiment with mixing colors. Include activities with making their own artist palette. Make a color wheel, match colors, visually discriminate likenesses/differences in colors and color words.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Green Fox Is Red, March 14, 2003

By	"tiapup4144" (Sauk Rapids, MN) - See all my reviews

Hello, Red Fox by Eric Carle I felt was a very well written book. When animals from all over the forest get together for a party, held by the frogs mom for his birthday, frogs mom couldn't understand why all his friends had colors for names but were different colors. When red fox showed up frogs mom said no this fox is green. This is why the book is cool. On the cover the fox was green, but when you open the book it gives you directions. If you look at the black dot in the middle of the page for about 10-15 seconds without breaking concentration and then you look to the next page which is white and let your eyes focus you will see a red fox if you were looking at the green fox with the dot in the middle. This book is great for children because it keeps their attention and it can involve participation of the audience for those who get restless. Overall I give this book a 4 star rating because the interaction part may be hard for some but once you get it down, this book rocks.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eric Carles the best!, August 29, 2004

By	Nichole Stahmer (E. Wareham, Ma. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hello Red Fox (Hardcover)

This is one of my favorite authors and he never lets me down. This book has an interesting story and is so creative. When we look at the pictures we have lots of fun waiting to see the animals change color but I am also getting my kids to count anywhere from 10 to 20 each time we turn the page which is great for preschoolers. To make it easier to see, we found that once we count to our designated number, we blink quickly and then the new color appears. Buy this for your kids and you won't regret it!