Holiday bows. Rudolph's nose. Ho! Ho! Ho!
Babies like the color red. Perhaps because it is one of the first colors they see.
Babies are born with limited color vision. Researchers Adams, Courage, and Mercer (1994) report in their article, "Systemic Measurement of Human Neonatal Color Vision," that 74% of newborns in their study sample were able to see a patch of red set against a neutral hue, 36% were able to see green, 25% yellow, and a scant 14% a patch of blue. "At 1 month, performance improved somewhat although infants still showed clear evidence of discriminating only the red patch." In the 2010 article, "Infants' Preferences for Toys, Colors, and Shapes: Sex Differences and Similarities," researchers Jadva, Hines and Golombok found that 12-, 18-, and 24-month-olds "preferred reddish colors to blue." Similarly, researchers Anna Franklin, Laura Bevis, Yazhu Ling, and Anya Hurlbert found that 4- and 5-month-olds looked longest at reddish hues.
So, read a little red.
Author/illustrators Lita Judge and Keith Baker contrast red against cool wintry whites in their books red sled and no two alike. The first is a clever cumulative tale full of Scrinch scrunch scrinch scrunch crunch. Almost wordless, the story unfolds in pictures. The second, a rhyming book, is about similarities and differences. The first is exuberant and loud. Playful. The second is quiet and soft. Calming.
The wordless picture book A Ball for Daisy (2011) by Chris Raschka features a bright red ball. Perfect.
Red Truck (2008) by Kersten Hamilton and illustrator Valeria Petrone is an oft-told tale about a truck that saves the day. Petrone's truck is big. Petrone's truck is RED. The text is energetic and rhyming. Can Red Truck make it up the hill? Red truck can! Red Truck will! ZOOOM! It is the only book of the bunch available in both hardcover and board book formats.
All four books tickle babies' ears with language sounds and draw eyes to the page. All are hardcover picture books, great for babies before they start reaching and for older 2's and 3's.
Babies like the color red. Perhaps because it is one of the first colors they see.
Babies are born with limited color vision. Researchers Adams, Courage, and Mercer (1994) report in their article, "Systemic Measurement of Human Neonatal Color Vision," that 74% of newborns in their study sample were able to see a patch of red set against a neutral hue, 36% were able to see green, 25% yellow, and a scant 14% a patch of blue. "At 1 month, performance improved somewhat although infants still showed clear evidence of discriminating only the red patch." In the 2010 article, "Infants' Preferences for Toys, Colors, and Shapes: Sex Differences and Similarities," researchers Jadva, Hines and Golombok found that 12-, 18-, and 24-month-olds "preferred reddish colors to blue." Similarly, researchers Anna Franklin, Laura Bevis, Yazhu Ling, and Anya Hurlbert found that 4- and 5-month-olds looked longest at reddish hues.
So, read a little red.
All four books tickle babies' ears with language sounds and draw eyes to the page. All are hardcover picture books, great for babies before they start reaching and for older 2's and 3's.
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