This is a simple, colourful picture book in the distinctive Eric Carle style, with a compelling historical background. Carle spent his boyhood in Nazi Germany, which banned expressionistic and abstract art, but his subversive art teacher secretly showed the young Carle the work of banned artists, including Franz Marc, who painted animals in bright and unusual colours. Carle was initially shocked by this radical style and use of colour, but was later inspired to use these methods in his own work. This book can be enjoyed simply as a vivid picture book for toddlers focusing on colour and animals, but also as homage to the extraordinary talent of Franz Marc, who was one of the key figures in the German Expressionist movement.

Angela Crocombe is from Readings St Kilda