After reading and counting, Carlo the cartoon giraffe explores yet another topic with preschoolers. As the curious young giraffe and his pals visit different locales, they see many colorful things. “Carlo sees yellow in the field.” The color yellow dominates this two-page spread, and various yellow objects sport a prominent tie-on tag that names them. In his wanderings, Carlo sees all the colors of the rainbow, plus black, white, and pink (although blue is rather short-changed). The colors draw children onward and keep them searching for more objects that match, making the lack of any real plot irrelevant. But this also makes the final page (“Carlo likes beeping” as he chases the cat) stand out like a sore thumb, as it is completely off course. Is this a clue to the next topic? The large font of the main text and the nametags serve preschoolers well, drawing their attention to the correct color while identifying its name in the text. Readers will delight in the simple, but detailed cartoon drawings. Spanyol creates a nice balance between rural and urban scenes in her illustrations. Youngsters will easily identify with the cute Carlo; from his artwork and pool ring, to his Mom and Dad and rubber galoshes, he is all kid. A great book for color recognition, though you might have to make up your own ending. (Picture book. 2-5)
