Caillou, Hurry Up!

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

Caillou loves to visit Grandma and Grandpa. There are so many wonderful
and interesting things to see and do and learn, like building castles
out of cards, helping Grandpa paint, and planting flower seeds. Of
course, Grandma and Grandpa are more lenient than Mommy and Daddy might
be, giving Caillou candy for a treat, allowing Caillou to make a blanket
tent for nap time, and not scolding him, even when he gets into things
he shouldn’t.

In Caillou, Hurry Up!, the youngster’s parents are having a morning
when everything seems to be going wrong: Rosie kept them up most of the
night; they overslept; Gilbert, the cat, knocked over a plant. When
Caillou adds to the problem by dawdling, Mommy and Daddy get impatient
and lose their tempers. Daddy gets so frustrated that he actually yells
at Caillou, for which he later apologizes.

Young children and their parents will find many of the adventures of
Caillou and his parents familiar and, as such, reassuring. The simple
text and expressive, colorful illustrations add to the appeal.
Recommended.