Red & Yellow's Noisy Night

by Josh Selig, Little Airplane Productions, Inc. (Illustrator)

Overview

“I believe that The Olive Branch can help make a real difference in our world.”--Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Red and Yellow live together in the branches of an olive tree--but these two friends are as different as can be, and sometimes have trouble co-existing peacefully. Red wants to play loudly on his strummy, while Yellow longs for sleep. This adorable bedtime story about tolerance and conflict resolution is based on an animated TV show that currently airs on over 100 channels around the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402790706
Publisher:	Sterling Children's Books
Publication date:	04/03/2012
Series:	Olive Branch Series
Pages:	28
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Based in New York City, The Little Light Foundation is a nonprofit charity whose goal is to create original media that helps children around the world learn about conflict resolution and mutual respect. Josh Selig, the founder of the company, is the creative genius behind popular TV shows such as The Wonder Pets. To ensure that The Olive Branch reaches the widest possible audience, episodes are available to any broadcaster in the world for just one unit of that country's own currency.

Editorial Reviews

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.” --Booklist
 
“The book contains a worthy message…” --Kirkus Reviews
 
 
Praise for The Olive Branch:
 
“What I admire about The Olive Branch is [it] demonstrates that our conflicts can be resolved with joy, humor, and true compassion...”--Deepak Chopra
 
“The show reflects many of the goals we seek to achieve…”--Karen Cirillo, UNICEF
 
“We believe this project will help children find creative ways to work out their differences.”--Rhonda Barad, Simon Wiesenthal Center/NY Tolerance Center

From the Publisher

In this adaptation of the animated short The Olive Branch: Sleep, Red wants to play his "strummy" loudly while Yellow wants to sleep--a situation that leads to a quarrel. What works as a wordless, one-minute film loses its quirky charm and becomes static and didactic in this treatment. Red and Yellow dwell in the Olive Tree where they mostly live happily together. Or so readers are told; unfortunately, neither the characters nor the nature of their friendship is really established before the conflict is introduced. The text is leaden, and the connection between the characters is not conveyed in the bland illustrations. Their bickering ends in standoff. Instead of an emotional revelation or an acknowledgement of the other's position, the resolution is somewhat accidental. Following the argument, Red realizes the night is a quieter time and changes his tune to an appropriately soft one. Both Red and Yellow enjoy the sound of this and have the same idea: The song becomes a lullaby for Yellow. The book contains a worthy message but is disappointingly without nuance. For a more meaningful and engaging story about friendship, conflict and compromise, use Ribbit Rabbit by Candace Ryan, illustrated by Mike Lowery (2010). (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews