BOOKLIST - October, 2021
STARRED REVIEW

A worthy companion to its two acclaimed thematic predecessors, Green (2012) and Blue (2018), Red is the story of a young red fox that lags behind its parent and three siblings, eventually becoming separated from them in the deep, dark forest. After spending a night alone, the little animal crosses a railroad track and finds itself near humans as evidenced by fences, a shed, a wheelbarrow, and a bright blue truck. Different hues of red drive the illustrations; the color appears in both the natural and the man-made world and brings with it associations as varied as anger, courage, danger, joy, and love. Seeger’s thickly painted illustrations deftly convey these myriad emotions, while spare yet effective text—only two words per page—conveys the dangers that the susceptible kit encounters: “rose red, mud red, rust red, blood red.” After a couple of lonely, hungry nights, the fox falls prey to a trap but finds rescue through an empathetic young girl. The color red appears in autumn sunsets and sunrises, late-blooming flowers, ripe apples, and the foliage of the trees while strategically placed die-cuts add interest to the already involving tale of a youngster trying to find its way home.
— Maryann Owen