Red Is Best , by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Robin Baird Lewis,
Annick, 1983. This is one of those books that is earmarked as a
classic the moment it appears. Everything about it seems just right
for a toddler - the length, the tone, the simple but evocative
illustrations, and above all the way Stinson seems to get right
inside a toddler's passion and understand what the mother in the
story doesn't - specifically that "my red boots take bigger steps"
and "red paint puts singing in my head."