LEPRECHAUN'S RAINBOW

Teach the colors of the rainbow with this board book.

A charming cartoon fox in a leprechaun-green suit and top hat stars in a rhyming romp through the colors of the rainbow. A couplet on each page introduces a color and lists some of the items of that hue children can spot. It follows the color spectrum pattern with the exception of indigo, an appropriate choice for the audience. There are no humans in this colorful fantasy world. The vulpine leprechaun featured on every page drives a red tractor, points out orange butterflies, eats a picnic lunch with lots of yellow treats. The couplet on the green page eschews shamrocks in favor of four-leaf clovers: “Green is clover, pluck some up, / All day long you’ll have good luck!” Blue is a sailing scene. Though the verse on the purple page says, “Purple in a garden grows,” a purple cottage is the prominent feature in the illustration, not a garden. The final spread actually has three rainbows—two arcs at the top and a third partial rainbow that ends in a pot of gold. The rainbow arcs form a handle, making this sturdy book also toteable. Very young children won’t appreciate the oblique references to St. Patrick’s Day but will enjoy identifying colors.

St. Patrick’s Day lite, for very young children.