Caillou, Crocodile

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Preschool viewers of the popular Caillou TV series will delight in these
activity books featuring the young hero. The activities, many of them
involving the use of ever-popular stickers (Caillou Dominoes has the
added advantage of having reusable stickers), cover a wide variety of
skills. Tasks range in difficulty from simple (identifying colors and
shapes, matching), to more complex (tracing a pattern, sorting and
classifying objects that belong together, completing a simple series),
to some that are quite challenging (sequencing, recognizing similarities
and differences, repeating a pattern). Activities requiring knowledge of
concept words such as on/under, in front of/ behind, high/low, etc., are
common to all three books as is an emphasis on holding one’s pencil or
crayon correctly, a skill that is often neglected.

The books are attractively designed with large illustrations in bright
primary colors. Each page includes a note to parents indicating the
skill(s) addressed in that activity. Adult involvement is a must to
maximize the enjoyment as well as the educational benefits children will
receive from completing Caillou’s activities. Recommended.