Red Sled

Red Sled. written and illustrated by Lita Judge. 2011. 40p. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 

Author/Illustrator Website: www.litajudge.com

Medium: pencil and watercolor

Awards and Honors: A Kirkus Best Children's Book of 2011

Audience: 1 and up

Annotation: 

A group of woodland creatures find a sled outside a cabin and go for a midnight ride.

Personal Reaction: 

Nearly wordless, save for the onomatopoeic sounds, Red Sled is a joyous romp of a book. When a bear comes upon a red sled leaning against a cabin he decides to take it out for a spin. As Bear sleds downhill under the full moon, he is joined by a host of woodland creatures including a moose, a raccoon, a porcupine, a rabbit, a possum and a mouse, who hoot and holler as they careen downhill. After they finally come to sudden stop, Bear returns the sled to the little cabin, where the next morning a bundled up child notices his tracks in the snow. I won't give away the ending, but there's another fun surprise at the end of the book. Fantastical, but never cartoonish; this book is pure magic.