Hello, Red Fox

by Eric Carle

In this imaginative book, Eric Carle invites young readers to discover complementary colors while enjoying the amusing story of Little Frog and his colorful friends.

It’s Little Frog’s birthday, and Mama Frog gets a big surprise when the guests show up for his party—all the animals are the wrong color! Little Frog tells her she’s not looking long enough, and he’s right.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Art, Fiction, Juvenile, Kids

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.

Reviews

[Tina Haigler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome! It teaches kids about complementary, or opposite, colors. What makes it special? It's interactive! The page to the left has a picture with a dot in the center. The page to the right only has words and a single dot. You stare at the dot in the picture to the left for 10 seconds, then look at the dot on the page to the right. You will now see the after image of the picture and it will be of the opposite color! It's so much fun! This is why I like reading kids books. It's never too late in life to learn something new. I'd recommend this for kids 5 to 9 😊

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Important
In order to enjoy this book, follow these simple steps:
The page should be fairly well-lighted.
Stare at the dot inside the red heart.
Slowly count to ten without moving your eyes.
Then move your eyes to the dot on the opposite blank page. Count to three.”

Each page you do this. It’s amazing what colors and eyes can do. My four year old daughter “read” this book every night and showed her “smarter” older brothers how to “read” it. Lol. Very enjoyable.

But I am bias. I love mostly everything Eric Carle does.

[Canette Arille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this children's book. Eric Carle is a talented creator of fairy tales for children. The book begins with mother frog telling her son, that his birthday is coming, and they need to organize a party. And she asks who he would like to invite? The little frog says he would like to invite his friends: red fox, purple butterfly, orange cat, green snake, yellow bird, blue fish, and white dog with black spots.
All invited guests appeared at the party. They thanked for the invitation, but it turned out that they were all a different color than the little frog said. However, the son told his mother to take a better look at them. So she started looking, and looking, and looking
For his birthday, Mother Frog gave a flower to her son, a little frog, saying that it is red, with green leaves.
But the little frog said that these are not those colors. So his mom told him to take a better look. So he started looking, and looking, and looking. At the end, his mom kissed him in front of all his friends. And the little frog blushed.


The book teaches children a colors. You have to read it, to understand what I mean

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun idea, you stare at each animal for a while and then look on a blank page to see a different coloured version. Although this was interesting some worked better than others and I did get a bit stared out by the end!

Read on open library.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This. Ok is all about optical illusions and if you stare at something long enough your eyes will maintain, for a few seconds, an afterimage. It is cute and clever but gave me a slight headache so....be aware.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

cool idea but a little tough to execute

[Nabeela Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a spectacular picture book! One with a lovely story of a frog organising a birthday party for its child but all the animal friends turn up the wrong colour (or so we think!), and with a clever, mind-blowing and creative activity that must be done in order to see the animal in its correct colour!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I thought as well as the fantastic colours and illustrations that Eric Carle never fails to produce, this book is even more interactive and engaging by encouraging the reader to look closely at the dot in the middle of the animal and then look away at the dot on the next page in order to see the same animal appear in a different colour (like magic!).

I do think that very young children can use this book for the story however would struggle with being able to concentrate for that amount of time on the activity in order to achieve the results. This is a book that both young and older children can enjoy!

[Paige Hertweck · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book did a great job at catching the children’s eye along with teaching children about the color wheel. The story was not too deep or meaningful but it is a great way to educate younger children on color.

[Marinda (rindasreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun way to discover color theory with young children!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

One kid was frustrated he couldn’t get the “trick” to work.

[Stefania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple book but very entertaining.

[Snail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t fully get the color tricks to work… super cool concept.

[Claire Holmes]

this is such a great concept for interactive storytelling, however, i fear something is wrong with my eyes and i must visit an optometrist immediately.

[Dilan Atalay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zıt renkler ilgimizi çeker :)

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting way of introducing children to Goethe's colour wheel theory.

[Katherine Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

1) Book summary, in your own words (3 pts)
-Little frog's birthday is coming up and momma frog asks her son who he wanted to invite. He reels off a long list of colored animals. When all of little frog's friends show up at the party, they are not the same color that little frog told momma they were. Little frog explains that you just have to look at each animal long and hard enough, and the color will change to what he described. While reading the book, students can do the little eye trick that changes each animal's color. On every other page there is an animal (opposite of the color little frog describes) with a tiny black dot in the center. Students have to stare at the black dot for 10 seconds, then go over to the next page where there is only the little dot, and stare at that dot for 10 seconds. After doing so, they will see the animal appear on that page in the color that little frog says.
2) Grade level, interest level, lexile (1 pt)
-Kindergarten-1st graders.
3) Appropriate classroom use (subject area) (1 pt)
-When learning colors
4) Individual students who might benefit from reading (1 pt)
-Students who are learning the different colors
-Students who love animals
5) Small group use (literaturecircles) (1 pt)
-Students can look at the pictures in small groups and see all the animals appear.
6) Whole class use (read aloud) (1 pt)
-The book could be read during carpet time. It would be best for students to get in small groups to look at pictures and see the animals appear.
7) Related books in genre/subject or content area (1 pt)
-Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? by Eric Carle
8) Multimedia connections (audio book, movie) available (1 pt)
-None available.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so wanted this book to work. The idea and presentation is wonderful and I think it an excellent addition to any discussion on color.

It's the 'whole stare at a dot thing then look on the next page and you'll see a different color' thing. And several other cool tricks like that.

But the kids couldn't get their eyes to 'see' the different colors. It took me a while to make the change myself.

I'll try it again when they're older to see if it's just an age thing.

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much of a story; more of an optical illusion book. You're supposed to stare at each picture for 10 seconds, then look at the blank page opposite and see the picture in complementary colors. Definitely not age-appropriate for Carle's main audiences. Also your eyes get tired by the end. I might come back to this when my son is much older and knows more about complementary colors and optical illusions (and is able to focus on one picture for ten whole seconds).

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

REALLY fun book!!! You look at the "red" picture with a dot for 10 seconds and then look at the dot on the next page and you see the image in the corresponding complimentary color! Great book for discussing the science behind it all--the rods in your eye get fatigued when you look at one color long enough, you see the complimentary color coming out. My kids at 5 and younger are too young to see the images pop out. But I LOVED it! I even think high school kids would love it.

[April Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would use this book to introduce the color wheel and opposites. If you stare at dots in the book and then stare away to next dot, you will see the complementary color. This book would be hard to do as a whole reading but you could use it as an example and put it in the book box for the week.

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I'm impressed. I never thought I'd ever see anything this new and truly original in a picture book. The idea is just so fascinating, and it is executed in an engaging and unforgettable way. I'm sorry it isn't three times as long. Unfortunately, with the illustrations being so the focus, the story suffers.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely one of my favorites. Carle has created this book that teaches children that every color has an opposite, but in fun and creative way. I love that he allows readers to stare at this dot and see the opposite image and color on the next page. It was beautifully done and one of the most unique picture books that I've seen in a while.

[Marie Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is more interesting for adults. The four to eight year old crowd that love most of his books would not have the patience to make this book work. It demonstrates a rather sophisticated visual trick.

[Becca Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Froggy invites friends over for a party and every one is the wrong color! This is an interactive book about color. The color you see in the picture is not the color the animal is. Might be a challenge for a younger audience.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an Eric Carl book that I hadn't seen before. I really like the concept and think kids will have fun staring at the dots and making the pictures appear. It gave me a bit of a headache though since there are so many dots that you have to stare at.

[Eva Seyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

My children (7 and 4.5) had a bit of trouble getting the concept of seeing the complementary colours. Even I had some trouble, so I don't blame them! Clever idea, though.

[Fifi · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Dutch translation: Hallo, rode vos!]
'Lukt het niet, probeer het dan nog eens, rustig en op je gemak.'
#dezinvanhetboek

[Sabine Ibing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jede Farbe hat eine sogenannte Komplementärfarbe. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe entdeckte dies durch einen Zufall, worauf er anschließend seine Farbenlehre begründete. Eric Carle setzt bei dem Zufall an und lässt uns in diesem ebenso vergnüglichen wie verblüffenden Buch mit eigenen Augen erleben, was Goethe erkannte, denn hier wird es experimentierfreudig: Erlebe, was es damit auf sich hat! Ein Klassiker, eine Neuauflage, Eric Carle, einer meiner Lieblingsautoren für Kinderbücher.

Auf einem farbigen Objekt auf der linken Seite befindet sich in der Mitte ein schwarzer Punkt. Schau den an, entspanne deine Augen und zähle langsam bis 10. Du darfst nicht blinzeln und musst nun ganz langsam rechten Seite schauen, den Punkt dort fixieren. Der grüne Fuchs wird rot, das rote Herz wird grün, der schwarze Hund mit weißen Flecken wird zum weißen Hund mit schwarzen Flecken usw. Diese Zauberei wird gut beschrieben. Das Experiment fasziniert und sorgt automatisch für eine konzentrierte und spielerische Beschäftigung. Das physikalische Phänomen lässt sich einfach beschreiben. Die Rezeptoren der Augen desensibilisieren sich auf weißem Grund. Bei mir hat es nicht gleich geklappt und auch nicht bei allen. Nicht aufgeben, die Augen entspannen, irgendwann klappt es. Es ist schon irre, wie der Körper reagiert. Klasse ist der interaktive Aspekt dieses Buchs, das Verstehen durch Anwendung. Der Gerstenberg Verlag, gibt eine Altersempfehlung ab 5 Jahren. Passt. Meine Empfehlung!


Eric Carle, der Schöpfer der unermüdlichen kleinen Raupe Nimmersatt, wurde 1929 in Syracuse, New York, geboren. Seine Schul- und Studienzeit verbrachte er in Deutschland und kehrte 1952 in die USA zurück. Seit 1968 veröffentlichte er über 70 Kinderbücher, die in 80 Sprachen übersetzt sind und mit vielen Preisen ausgezeichnet wurden. Mit seiner Frau Bobbie gründete er ein großes Museum für internationale Bilderbuchkunst, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, das 2002 eröffnet wurde. Eric Carle starb 2021 in Northampton, Massachusetts.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book introducing children to Goethe's colour wheel. This would be a great book to explore with children before an art lesson, however, it is important all children have close access to the book for it to work most effectively.
I also think there is a message about stereotyping and how we view others. When the frogs look at the other animals for longer they see them as a different colour, this could link to getting to know people well before judging them.
A great book for KS1 and lower KS2 children, however, the activity of looking at the animals in different colours and linking to the colour wheel could also be done with upper KS2 children.

[Jaimie Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was recommended this book by a fellow student and it did not disappoint!
A fantastic book, the wording in this story is very simple and very easy to follow and are kept to short sentences on each page. The book uses repetitive language on almost every page. The diversity in this book has to do with looking past what people or animals look like on the outside but rather what they have on the inside. If you judge someone for just what they look like, you are not truly getting to know them, what’s on the inside can be very different from what’s on the outside. I would highly recommend too!