The Two Reds

by William Lipkind (Illustrator), Nicolas Mordvinoff (Illustrator)

A young boy with red hair who dashes out to play and a reddish-colored cat in search of food each have some adventures in the heart of a busy city and eventually bump into each other and become friends.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cats, Kids

46 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1950

About the author

Anthropologist who published young adult novels and a thesis under his own name, and children's books under the pseudonym "Will" in collaboration with artist Nicolas Mordvinoff.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard to find due to the fact that they use Will and Nicolas as the author. That is there first name. Look under Lipkind and Mordvinoff and I found it that way. It was tricky and I still had to get this ILL.

The 2 reds are a red cat and a red haired boy. They don’t like each other. But they both like to get into trouble. They both really like fish though. One day they are each separately being chased for different reasons and its how they escape their pursuers that brings them together.

Some of the artwork is good and some of it is that strange way of using one color and then putting a drawing over it for some reason. I thought this beginning story was cute.

The nephew loved the thrill of the chase when they both got in trouble and he loved how they both escaped. He gave off a laugh of satisfaction when it happened. It was 4 stars. The niece thought this was ok and she gave it 2 stars.

I've come to the conclusion that unless libraries start hanging on to these older stories, it's likely that we are the last generation who will be able to read all these Caldecott books. I guess not enough people are checking them out and libraries are getting rid of them. I think that's a sad thing that they can't be accessed easily.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story of two Reds who live on the same street: one, a boy with red hair and pet fish; the other a red cat who likes to eat. Because their like of fish is in conflict, they don't like each other. They end up walking together, though, and explore the street until they each end up running from different threats. Their shared circumstances leads to an agreement about the pet fish, and the two end up friends.

The illustrations are not my favorite; I'm not a big fan of this collaborative team. But they do a good job of highlighting the titular red and showing the parallel experiences.

[Carol Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story and the artwork. The drawings are made to look like a young child drew them, but obviously they are drawn by a talented adult.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t a huge fan of their other book, Finders Keepers, but since this is also a Caldecott book, 1951 Caldecott Honors this time, I figured I would give it a try. It was a charming story. The Two Reds of the title are a young boy named Red (not his real name but he has red hair) and a homeless cat (whose real name equivalent is hilarious) also named Red that live in the same neighborhood. The boy and cat don’t like each other because they both like fish, but for different reasons. It is early in the morning and the cat is hungry, so he goes in search of food. The boy goes out to play, and wants to ride a fruitman’s horse, but he is a work horse not a riding horse. Both Red the boy and Red the cat try to catch a pigeon. Red sees a group of boys called the Seventh Street Signal Senders performing a secret initiation, but they catch him watching and start chasing after him. Red the cat steals one of the fishman’s fresh fish and runs away, where he collides with Red the boy and each get away from their pursuers. They decide the other is not as bad as originally thought, and spend the rest of their time together. Recommended for ages 4-7, 3 stars.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only three colors in this book, including the one you certainly expect: red (also yellow and black). Red the boy and Red the cat share the same street, with the cat looking for fish, including the boy's pet fish. The cat's grab from a fishmonger's stand and the boy's sneak peek of a neighborhood's secret club leads to both being chased, a massive pileup, and both finding their way home safely with a truce over the fish. Very expressive drawings, with the chief being the full-page portrait of the cat. The book takes a beating from other reviewers for racist attitudes illustrated in the boys club dressed up like Native Americans - that's not even a main theme of the book that was produced in 1950, so it's not fair to pillory the book for not conveying or anticipating 21st-century sensitivities (I'd like to hear Native American response to that aspect of the book).

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Two Reds is an eye catching book, thanks to its red, yellow, and black color palette and the various perspectives included in the illustrations. The story is iffy, though, thanks to the “signal senders,” who dress in headdresses and pretend to be Indians , and because the sudden friendship between the boy named Red and the cat named Red makes very little sense.Unlike some of the earlier books, though, the text in this one is actually incorporated in and around the illustrations, which gives it a more contemporary feel than a lot of the other books I’ve been reading lately.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

• 1951 Caldecott Honor Book •

I started reading this thinking how modern the illustrations look and how eye-catching the red and yellow colors are, and about halfway through (and for several pages) there is a group of boys playing “Cowboys and Indians”. So it came off more dated than it began. I still don’t understand how the two Reds became friends other than they were both running away from people. The connection is loose at the very best. I love the art, the story is ok.

Materials used: unlisted
Typeface used: unlisted

[SamZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

1951 Caldecott Honor; Favorite Illustration: the first page when the two reds are giving each other a wary look.
In the city there are two reds: a boy and a cat. Both are wary of each other, but inadvertently help each other out of a sticky situation and become unlikely friends.
This story was cute, but the illustration style just isn't my favorite.

[Laura5 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am in love with the illustrations of the boy and the cat in the first few pages - would love to own a print of the cat page. But I am not in love with the white children who dress as stereotypes of Native Americans in the Seventh Street [Smoke] Signal Senders. Sigh.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not entirely sure why they became friends, other than that crashing in to one another made it possible for them to escape those chasing them. Kind of a slight story. But the illustrations had that mid-century modern feel that's kind of cool.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a boy and a cat both named Red who become friends. I found the story boring and I was not a fan of the fact that there are white boys dressed as stereotypical Native Americans. However, I really did like the pictures.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

1951 Caldecott Honor

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thought I would really enjoy this book based on the cool illustration on the cover, but looks (as we all know) can be deceiving, which was the case here. The Two Reds (1950) by Will and Nicolas is just a weird book that follows almost two different stories about a boy with red hair and a cat with red fur and how they don't like each other, but in the end, they become friends. It's very scattered and has some highly dated images of boys behaving like savages dressed up in Native American garb because it's part of some stupid initiation into some boy's only club, chasing the boy with red hair through the streets of the town... While the illustrations were amusing in their artwork, not depictions, the story was just like, "What the heck?" It's interesting going through all the Caldecott books. It's really been a lot of misses. I realize that they were of their time, but it just is interesting how many books were really not universal and I think that many books, even those made today, are really going to be just products of their time. The ones that make it past 10-50 years are rare. My rating - 2/5

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[MaryAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cat and a red-headed boy both like fish. But their reasons conflict. The illustrations were only ok. Caldecott Honor Book.

[Lorna · Rating 2 out of 5]

1951 Caldecott Honor

Favorite illustration: The full page, image of Red the Cat's head.

Favorite line: "His real name was known only to cats. I think it was something like Mr. Furpatto Purrcatto."

Kid-appeal: I like the illustrations with the modern, graphic design-style, but didn't care for the story of Red the Boy and Red the Cat, who didn't really like each other. There's also some stereotyping of Native Americans as warriors, as portrayed by kids, that makes this feel very dated.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a cat person. A boy with red hair and a cat with red fur don't like each other because the cat is interested in reading the boy's goldfish. But when a gang starts chasing the boy and a fishman starts chasing the cat, circumstances encourage them to be friends. I didn't really find the story or the pictures very intriguing.

[Stefanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It wasn't a very good story, and the art is pretty terrible, and the gang initiation that the boy Red watches has an already racist drawing that looks like a kid is about to be raped by another kid, so overall I'm pretty creeped out.