Saturday, December 21, 2013

Erik the Red Sees Green by Julie Anderson -- ADVISABLE

Anderson, Julie Erik the Red Sees Green, illustrated by Davide López. PICTURE BOOK. Albert Whitman & Company, 2013. $16.99. Content: G.

Erik is confident, hard-working, and creative, but lately he hasn't been doing well in school, and no one knows why. It takes an observant friend to discover that Erik is color blind or, as the book refers to it, "color vision deficient." Through illustrations and Erik's own voice, the book's audience learns what it means to have CVD and how to tell if someone fits the description. And end note gives further information.

While this is a fun story with lively illustrations and a sympathetic protagonist, the main goal of Erik the Red Sees Green seems to be to educate readers about CVD. The good thing is that it does that fairly well. The fiction format adds interest, even if it also adds quite a bit to the word count. Perhaps most importantly, the book gets the word out about CVD, especially if used as a read-aloud for a whole group. Perhaps it will even help other children who, like Erik, are struggling in school because of undiagnosed vision problems.

EL -- ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Caryn.

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