Toodle-oo Ruby Blue! Coloring Book

Little kids love Toodle-oo Ruby Blue so much Garn Press asked Rachel Backshall to turn her wonderful illustrations into coloring pages for little kids to color. Then we took some of the coloring pages to the Brooklyn Book Festival and children spent the whole day coloring them with Rachel who flew all the way from Scotland to New York to be with them. At the Brooklyn Book Festival many parents talked with Denny Taylor who wrote the story Toodle-oo Ruby Blue about their children’s struggles learning to read in school. Denny shared with parents that the secret to the success of children’s early literacy experiences is engaging children in joyful reading experiences that encourage children’s positive interactions with books. "We would stack Toodle-oo Ruby Blue ," Denny said, "up against an entire year of workbooks and test prep materials in encouraging young children to love reading and become enthusiastic ‘proficient’ young readers." At Garn we recommend that children have great stories with illustrations that also tell the story, and coloring books – like this one! – that encourage children to actively engage with the characters as they retell the story – reading the words if they can or re-inventing them if not. Most importantly, have fun coloring Rachel’s incredible illustrations with your children, and if you would like to know more about young children learning to read and write please go to the end of the book where you will find some more really important information about how children learn to read and write.