Caillou: Big Kid Caillou

PreS—Caillou, which airs on PBS Kids television, is a brightly colored animated series that teaches life lessons through the adventures and experiences of a four-year-old boy. In six 7- to 8-minute episodes and two 3-minute shorts, Caillou learns about being true to himself, keeping an open mind when meeting new people, and the benefit of charity. Part of the appeal of the show is that it manages to avoid being overly cloying despite these potentially heavy-handed messages. The episodes are mostly dialogue among animated characters, but a kindly, omniscient narrator occasionally helps better explain story lines, plot points, and leaps in time. Bonus features include a special message to parents about they ways in which preschoolers benefit from watching the series, printable coloring pages, and activities available when the DVD is viewed on a computer. Charming and gentle, this is a solid addition to preschool collections.—Jennifer Verbrugge, Dakota County Library, Eagan, MN