Caillou the Courageous

PreS-K—Caillou, a four-year-old boy, learns how to deal with emotions. He has the support of a traditional nuclear family, preschool friends, and Daniel, an older boy who sometimes babysits for Caillou. The seven gentle stories in this collection are narrated by a grandmotherly voice. The cartoon animation features simple line drawings, primary colors, and minimalist settings with blurred edges. In "Caillou Climbs," Caillou's mother surprises him and his friend Clementine with an outing to a rock climbing wall, and the boy overcomes his fear to find that he enjoys climbing. "The Spider Issue" begins with Daniel sharing a comic book about a mutant spider from cosmic space, which makes Caillou fearful as he seems to encounter spiders at every turn. A conversation with his father, who shows Caillou some garden spiders, reassures him. Another episode has Caillou trying out new roller skates at the park, where Daniel encourages him by sharing his own experience and stressing the importance of practice.