Red & Yellow's Noisy Night (The Olive Branch)
This book is based on a one-minute animated short from the television series The Olive Branch, which “promotes an understanding of conflict resolution and mutual respect.” The olive branch of the title is not just metaphorical, but part of an olive tree where friends Red and Yellow live. Sometimes they coexist happily, and sometimes they don’t. On one particular night, Yellow is trying to sleep, but Red is playing his “strummy”—quite loudly—and has no intention of stopping just because it’s keeping Yellow up. But then Red listens to the quiet of the night and is inspired to play a soft lullaby for Yellow, who falls asleep peacefully, and everything is “good in the Olive Tree once again.” The book has a pleasing simplicity about it and introduces primary colors through the two characters. The text manages to avoid sounding moralistic and would be a perfect choice for a bedtime story after a day of bickering. Character recognition from the TV tie-in should add to its appeal. Preschool-Grade 2. --Kara Dean