39) Red Sled y Lita Judge

Judge, Lita. Red Sled. Atheneum Book, 2011. 40 pages. ISBN: 978-1-4424-2007-6

In this unique twist of excitement and danger, this picture book will be a fun bed time story for toddlers to read during a cold night. A curious grizzly bear finds a red sled in the snow and before you know it the rabbit, the moose, the raccoon, the beaver, and the mouse are all riding together on the red sled.  The almost-wordless-text complements the quiet snowy night, so that only the sounds of animals enjoying the sled ride can be expressed. “Eeeee,” and  “Whoa” express the enjoyment of the ride, while “Gadung,” and “”Alley-oop” express the danger of the ride.  There is no dialogue between characters which makes this picture book an easy read for young children. Friendships can be formed simply by having fun, and this is what the red sled allows these forest animals to do. Illustrations are en-framed in a black border, and drawn with pencil, watercolor, and the text is playfully labeled using large fonts. Children will learn about friendships and enjoyment in this text. (Picture book 2-7). The website for this award winning Author/Illustrator can be found at http://www.litajudge.com/index.html

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