Green Lizards vs. Red Rectangles, Steve Antony, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Summary: The main characters in this book are the Green Lizards and the Red Rectangles and they are at war. The work at trying to defeat each other and their efforts are laid out on the pages. The rectangles organize themselves in straight lines, the lizards are messy but strong. One day a lizard asked a question about what they were fighting for. This led to a bigger fight that went on for a long time and then got tired. They finally started working towards peace and living together. Their life was much better during peacetime.

Straight Talk for Librarians: This book is mostly red and green. To an adult, it is quite political about war. But to a younger reader, the story might prompt them to think about the people they fight with. And for what reason. Is it over toys? Space? An idea? Is it really worth it? Kids usually have more fun when they are playing together and sharing all their stuff. Emerging readers will probably spend a lot of time looking at the expressions on the lizards’ faces. My favorite was the cute little heart on the inside back cover. The size of the font will help a read aloud because your volume can follow the font size. The bigger the font, the louder the voice. It’s also a very good introduction to the idea of peace. This book can help make sense of how to deal with the violence shown on TV if you children happen to see people fighting. It’s a great purchase for a school library.