Red is Best

by Kathy Stinson, Robin Baird Lewis (Illustrator)

Top 32 Canadian Books for Children, Canadian Children’s Book Centre 100 Best Canadian Kids’ Books, Today’s Parent Magazine

“Red is Best gets it right. This is a true children’s classic.” —Ken Setterington, author, storyteller, Children and Youth Advocate for the Toronto Public Library

“Delightful.” —School Library Journal

Young Kelly’s mom doesn’t understand about red. Sure, the brown mittens are warmer, but the red mitts make better snowballs. And the red boots aren’t just for rain; they take bigger steps in any weather. And, yes! a green cup does make a difference … juice tastes better in the red cup. No doubt about it, red is best.

Kathy Stinson’s classic tale of one toddler’s obstinate color preference has been charming readers for 25 years now. With over 275,000 copies in print, Red is Best has steadily marched its way to become a children’s book classic. Now a new generation of readers can discover Stinson’s insistent young heroine, aptly captured in the simple drawings by Robin Baird Lewis, each punctuated by the right dazzle of red.

With its plucky charm presented in a redesigned interior, and a special cover commemorating the book’s 25th anniversary, the re-release of Red is Best is sure to be a red-letter day.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Canada, Fiction, Storytime, Classics, School

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1982

About the author

Kathy Stinson, author of internationally acclaimed Canadian children's classic, Red is Best and the TD Award Winner, The Man with the Violin, also writes novels, short stories, and nonfiction for young people of all ages.

Reviews

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kelly's favorite color is red, and there is a good explanation for that. Everybody knows you can jump higher with red stockings, make better snowballs with red mittens, keep away monsters in the red pajamas, and take bigger steps with the red boots. A cute story about a kid's logical reasons for loving a color.

Find more children's book reviews in Reviews in Chalk

[Janet Trull · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic rediscovered with Heidi and Sonny, my two JK grandchildren.

[Sita_belen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este cuento es un poco largo para mi Alba, sobre todo, porque ella quiere cogerlo, repasar sus páginas, señalar los dibujos, tocarlo y jugar con él, como hace con todos sus cuentos. Pero las hojas son finitas para ella y corre el peligro de romperse muy pronto.

La historia habla sobre lo mucho que le gusta a Kelly el color rojo y por qué quiere utilizar todas sus cosas rojas. Su madre intenta convencerla de que use otras de otros colores por diferentes motivos, pero a ella le gusta el rojo y todas sus cosas rojas.

A mi me ha gustado mucho. A alba poco a poco, supongo.

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people like green. Some people like blue. But the little girl in this book likes red the best. Her mother tries to convince her to wear her white stockings with her blue dress, but Kelly clains that she can jump higher in her red stockings. Though her mother protests, Kelly also insists on her red boots, red mittens, and her red barrettes. Red paint puts singing in her head and juice in her red cup tastes best. As Kelly says, "I like red, because red is best."

Available in picture book or board book form, this simple story celebrates the childlike love of a favorite color. The illustrations are clean and pop out from the white background. Pale blues and greens are used sparingly, setting the stage for the vibrant red to shine in the spotlight. The text is written from Kelly's perspective and includes the repetitive phrase, "I like my red ____ the best"

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my son's favourite books when he was young. Very simple, but he loved it.

[Nickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the first children’s books that I discovered during my nursery nurse training over 20 years ago! I loved it the first moment I read it and I have read it to every class I have worked with ever since. It is now, sadly, out of print - I have no idea why it has a simple and enchanting theme throughout which captures children’s attention from start to finish! I read this book during the first week of my placement and the children loved it just as much as I do!
Add it to your collection,,,,if you can - I’m glad a good friend got me a copy before it went out of print. It is one book that I will always treasure and enjoy sharing.

[Nickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The simple text and colour theme appealed to nursery children and EAL children in particular.

[Junior · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the boy who laughed red all the time and his hands were big and he was beast of red when he out to play with the snow and the mother did not laugh then he was going all the time. I like book because the child wants to wear red clothes. I give this book 3 stars.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZRXN...

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal 2025 Challenge: 10 Popular Canadian Books 🇨🇦
Book #5

This is such a cute Children's Canadian Classic. First published in 1982. I cherish my copy that I bought in the early 1990's when I first began to work in Early Childhood Education. I would later read it to my own children.

It's sweet. The little girl loves the colour red and only wants red things. She can jump higher in red stockings, her red mittens make better snowballs (despite them having holes!) and my favourite - "But my red barrettes make my hair laugh!" She wrestles with her Mother at every point because like she simply says, "I like red, because red is best."

Too cute and the drawings are simple and very fitting to the story. Yes, I highly recommend this story for young kids!

[Nadia L. Hohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally get to read this classic. I have heard this book on so many lists. I think a lot of people grew up with this book, alas not me. I have also met the author Kathy Stinson on several occasions. Red is Best is the story of a child who has dialogues/arguments (if you will) about why red is better than the other colours that their mother suggests. It is loveable and playful and full of creativity. But then, I thought does the mother give in each time? Imagine if that creativity got squashed each time. The illustrations are very simple.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little girl names Kelly resists attempts to constrain her imagination and activity when her mom has lots of "buts..." related to her love of red. Other mittens that mom prefers may be warmer, but the red ones make the best snowballs. Pink barrettes might match her dress, but the red ones make her hair laugh. Red pajamas even make the monsters go away at night! Very cute and imaginative justifications on Kelly's part for surrounding herself with a world emblazoned with her favorite color.

[Kristina Phelps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiction
Grade Level: PreK-2
This book tells the story of a little girl and her favorite color – red. All of her favorite things are red. Her favorite boots are red. Her favorite dress is red. Her favorite pajamas are red. This is a cute story that I used as a mentor text in my first grade classroom during our opinion writing unit. My students enjoyed this book and it lent to great conversation afterwards about which color really is the best.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember my grandma buying me this book in the 80s shortly after my kindergarten teacher read this to us and I loved it. Kelly has to have everything red, despite her mom telling her to consider items of other colours. I love red too so it’s perfect. She had red boots, red mittens, red pajamas, red barrettes, a red cup, red paint and so on, as well as a lively imagination. It is true that some kids get caught up with their favourite something, and this book illustrates that well.

[TheAccidental Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended by a Goodreads friend, and Kindle had it for $2.37, so I gave it a try. Sweet little book. Possibly good for my granddaughter who always seems to want a cup or a bowl or a spoon of a certain color, generally NOT the one I had just prepared. LOL. We read books together over the internet and this one has nice illustrations which should be easy for her to focus on from miles away.

[K G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have started every year of my teaching career with this book (K-3). It opens up simple dialogue about favourite things to deeper thoughts about why and how we connect to things and others. I’m with Kelly..red barrettes can make your hair laugh.

[Re • · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 because of the beautiful illustrations!
this book was defs a fave when my sister was tiny bean, i also had a fondness for this book, but to me GREEN is the actual best. highly recommend

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is classic picture book is about a young girl named Kelly who loves the color red and prefers to use things that are that color. This book perfectly captures how stubborn toddlers can be, but also a part of childhood.

[Jimena De La Torre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revolucionario, esto es literatura!! Tarde diez años en encontrar lo que fue mi libro favorito de la infancia pero aquí está finalmente. Leía este libro tres veces al día mínimo cuando tenía ocho años.

[madziar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kanadyjska klasyka z prostymi szkicami, operującymi tylko kolorem czerwonym. Opowiada o małej dziewczynce, która uwielbia czerwony kolor.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read of a child’s preference why she prefers her red things over others.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my daughter's favourite books because she is a preschooler and her favourite colour is red. The writing is very cute and makes us all smile.

[mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Kathy it was not just for rain ☔

[Agnes]

2.5 stars

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about a girl's favorite color and all the reasons why it's best. Great example for teaching opinion.

[emyrose8 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple book with lots of repetition. Good for ESL.

[Gayla Shomler]

This pattern book explains why Kelly believes that Red is Best!

For a lesson plan - great for introducing the concept of opinion vs fact or writing paragraphs with supporting details for opinions.

[Marta Pereira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Use this to go through clothes; daily actions; colours and feelings

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it as a child and still love it. The little girl is so relatable, and the artwork is beautiful and fits the story perfectly.

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

solid but feels dated