Don’t miss Liesl Shurtliff’s new dark, humorous stand-alone middle grade novel RED: THE TRUE STORY OF RED RIDING HOOD (on sale April 12, 2016)!
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Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Ages 4-8, Ages 9-12, Giveaways, Fairy Tales, Chapter Books, Author Interviews, Fractured Fairy Tales, Little Red Riding Hood, featured, Books for Girls, Fantasy: Supernatural Fiction, Liesl Shurtliff, Selfie and a Shelfie, Add a tag
Blog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Children's Books, Picture Book, friendship, relationships, humor, Favorites, fractured fairy tales, skating, Tara Lazar, Troy Cummings, Random House Children’s Books, Library Donated Books, Little Red Gliding Hood, 6 Stars TOP BOOK, Top 10 of 2015, Add a tag
Little Red Gliding Hood Written by Tara Lazar Illustrated by Troy Cummings . Random House Children’s Books 10/27/2015 . 978-0-385-37006-6 . 32 pages …
Add a CommentBlog: Miss Marple's Musings (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: mashups, Fractured Fairy Tales, aliens, Perfect Picture Book Friday, I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, Benjie Davies, Tara Lazar, Three Bears, teachers' resources, PPBF, picture book, picture books, Add a tag
Title: I Thought This Was a Bear Book Written by: Tara Lazar Illustrated by: Benji Davis Published by: Aladdin (S&S), 2014 Themes/Topics: aliens, Goldilocks and Three Bears, metaphysical mash up Suitable for ages: 4-7 Opening: Once upon a time there were three bears. Synopsis: An … Continue reading
Add a CommentBlog: Kid Lit Reviews (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Children's Books, Interviews, Picture Book, Poetry, Favorites, dragons, fractured fairy tales, Debut Author, knights, Random House Children’s Books, Library Donated Books, 6 Stars TOP BOOK, Top 10 of 2015, Ben Mantle, Penny Parker Klostermann, There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight, Add a tag
. There Was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight Written by Penny Parker Klostermann Illustrated by Ben Mantle Random House Children’s Books 8/04/2015 978- 0-385-39080-4 . .40 pages Age 3—7 “A knight, a steed, a squire, a cook, a lady, a castle, [and …
Add a CommentBlog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Chapter Books, Meg Cabot, Author Interviews, Fractured Fairy Tales, featured, Ally Carter, Middle Grade Books, Sophie Kinsella, Steven Kellogg, Jen Calonita, Liane Moriarty, Fairy Tale Reform School Series, Ages 9-12, Fairy Tales, Add a tag
JEN CALONITA has interviewed everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Justin Timberlake, but the only person she's ever wanted to trade places with is Disney's Cinderella. She's the award-winning author of the My Secrets of My Hollywood Life series.
Add a CommentBlog: Kevin McNamee: Children's Author (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children's books, picture books, fractured fairy tales, prose, Big Bad Wolf, Bear and the 3 Goldilocks, Add a tag
Hi All,
Sorry about the long absence. I just wanted to send out a quick post to share some great news. I am thrilled to announce that my latest picture book, Bear and the 3 Goldilocks, has been released! This fractured fairy-tale was a lot of fun to write and Robert Lee Beers really did an amazing job with the illustrations. It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or ask your local bookstore. Autographed copies are also available through my website at www.kevinmcnamee.com if you are interested.
Happy writing!
Kevin
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Alissa Heyman, Giveaways, Book Giveaway, Fractured Fairy Tales, Unicorns, featured, Dancing, Justin Gerard, Sterling Children's Books, Add a tag
Enter to win a copy of Twelve Dancing Unicorns, written by Alissa Heyman and illustrated by Justin Gerard. Giveaway begins September 21, 2014, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends October 20, 2014, at 11:59 P.M. PST.
Add a CommentBlog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Books for Girls, Knopf Books for Young Readers, Liesl Shurtliff, Magic, Ages 9-12, Fairy Tales, Mystery, Fractured Fairy Tales, Rumpelstiltskin, Books for Boys, Add a tag
In Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin, author Liesl Shurtliff crafts an entertaining fractured fairy tale based on the Brothers Grimm character by the same name.
Add a CommentBlog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Fantasy: Supernatural Fiction, Writing Resources, Ages 9-12, Fairy Tales, Chapter Books, Fractured Fairy Tales, Character Development, Jen Calonita, Villians, Add a tag
What makes a villain a villain? I’ve always been a fascinated—and a little bit terrified—of villains, especially in fairytales. As a child, I couldn’t get enough of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs even if the old witch sent me diving into our couch cushions to hide my eyes.
Add a CommentBlog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: The Three Little Pigs, Wolf Books, Ages 0-3, Ages 4-8, Picture Book, Fairy Tales, Picture Books, Humor, Pigs, Fractured Fairy Tales, Reluctant Readers, Mark Teague, Add a tag
A funny reimagining of the Three Little Pigs story, where the wolf isn’t so much big and bad but just hungry … and a bit grouchy.
Add a CommentBlog: Susanna Leonard Hill (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Iza Trapani, Michael Garland, illustration contest, Lisa Thiesing, contest, kidlit, illustration, art, fractured fairy tales, prizes, Add a tag
Fasten your seat belts and prepare for take off! It's finally here!
the fact that this particular illustrator resembles a female is in no way meant to deter any male illustrators! :) |
They will narrow down the entrants to 6 finalists (or possibly a couple more or less depending on the number of entries :)) which will be posted here on Thursday May 1 for you to vote on for a winner. The vote will be closed at 5PM EST on Sunday May 4 and the winner will be announced on Monday May 5. (No PPBF on Friday May 2.)
First Prize is absolutely amazing! A portfolio critique by celebrated author/illustrator Michael Garland, who has over 20 picture books to his credit!!!
Let the artistic fun begin!!! :)
Blog: Jen Robinson (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Newsletter, illustrated books, fairytales, pink, noah z. jones, Early Elementary School, early reader, goldilocks, female protagonist, Reviews, fractured fairy tales, Add a tag
Book: Princess Pink and the Land of Fake-Believe: Book 1: Moldylocks and the Three Beards
Author: Noah Z. Jones
Pages: 80 (illustrated early reader)
Age Range: 5-7
Moldylocks and the Three Beards (yes, Beards) is the first book in a new heavily illustrated early chapter book series by Noah Z. Jones called Princess Pink and the Land of Fake-Believe. Princess Pink has seven older brothers, and her parents were so happy to have a girl that they named her "Princess." Their last name is "Pink." She is the exact opposite of her name:
"Princess Pink does not like fairies. She does not like princesses. And she REALLY does not like the color pink.
Princess Pink does like dirty sneakers, giant bugs, mud puddles, monster trucks, and cheesy pizza."
When her refrigerator turns into a portal to another world one late night, Princess finds herself in the Land of Fake-Believe. Her hair turns pink, but her new friend Moldylocks thinks that it looks cool. Hungry, she sets out with Moldylocks to visit the home of three Beards she knows, in the hope of sneaking some chili. A mix of expected and unexpected events follow, culminating in a daring rescue. And at the end, when Princess is back in her own bed, there's a suggestion that it just might have all been true.
This series is designed to appeal to first and second grades, with a grade 2 reading level. But I have to say that my just-turned four-year-old adores Moldylocks and the Three Beards as a read-aloud. When she realized that it was a satire on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, she didn't quite get it, but she pealed with laughter anyway. She liked trying to predict what would happen next.
But really, I do think this this is going to be a very nice series for new first and second grade readers. It's funny, and just a little gross. (Eating chili that a spider has been bathing in? Yuck! Green, moldy hair? Yuck!) It riffs on standard fairy tale tropes (there's a Mother Moose, for example, with a Tunacorn), and has entertaining illustrations. It's a nice introduction for kids to the concept of fractured fairy tales, and the way that they confound expectations.
Princess is about as non-stereotypical as she she could be, with medium brown skin, ragged shorts, and multi-colored socks. And I have to say, she looks pretty cool with the pink hair. She runs away from the Beards at first, but goes back bravely when her new friend needs her. In short, she's a delightful heroine for the modern primary schooler. And really, despite being about a girl named Princess Pink, the story is certainly boy-friendly, too.
Moldylocks and the Three Bears is something of an early reader/graphic novel hybrid. Much of the story is told through colorful, comic-like pictures and text call-outs. But there's traditional narrative on every page, too. Princess's words are shown in pink, while Moldylocks' are green. The girls are wide-eyed with expressive features. The Beards are a little odd, but funny. The spiders are surprisingly cute. And Moldylocks' green-tinged apron, well, that's a bit gross, but funny, too. The vocabulary is quite straightforward, and should be accessible to second graders. There are plenty of clues in the pictures as to what is going on anyway.
In short, I think that The Land of Fake-Believe series is going to be a nice addition to the ranks of early chapter books. I've even checked online already to see when the next book will be out (not until August, alas). School and public libraries will definitely want to give Moldylocks and the Three Beards a look. Recommended!
Publisher: Scholastic (@Scholastic)
Publication Date: April 29, 2014
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
FTC Required Disclosure:
This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links (including linked book covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).
© 2014 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. You can also follow me @JensBookPage or at my Growing Bookworms page on Facebook.
Blog: Ink Splot 26 (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: fractured fairy tales, little red riding hood, Sneak Peek, Reads, grimmtastic girls, Add a tag
Red Riding Hood Gets Lost
Tomorrow are the auditions for the school play at Grimm Academy, and I can’t wait to try out! I want to play the lead, Red Robin Hood. But it’s my first time auditioning and I’ve got stage fright! How grimmiserable!
It doesn’t help that my friends and I are all worried about the E.V.I.L. Society that’s making trouble at the Academy. If only I had a magical charm to help us figure out what’s going on – and maybe help me get the lead in the play!
Any suggestions to help me get over my stage fright? I’m so glad I have my grimmtastic friends Cinda, Snow, and Rapunzel to help me out. I know I can always count on them!
Love,
Red
Blog: Ink Splot 26 (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: grimmtastic girls, cinderella, fractured fairy tales, Reads, Add a tag
Cinderella Stays Late
Tomorrow is my first day at Grimm Academy! It’s the most famous school in Grimmlandia and was founded by the brothers Grimm as safe haven for everyone “born of fairy tale, folktale, and nursery rhyme magic.” My stepsisters have been going there for years and now I finally get to go, too!
I’m so excited, but I’m also nervous! The Steps haven’t told me much about what school is like. I think they even wish I wasn’t going with them tomorrow. Guess I’ll just have to make some new friends!
Any advice for my first day at a new school? Whatever happens, I’m sure it will be grimmtastic!
Love,
Cinda
Blog: Susanna Leonard Hill (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: illustration, picture books, fractured fairy tales, illustrators, Iza Trapani, Michael Garland, illustration contest, Lisa Thiesing, Add a tag
Whoopeee! Yahooo!
I'm excited!
Can you tell I'm excited?
It's because I'm about to launch a new hare-brained scheme and you guys are all going to get to be part of it!
(And no, just because it's April 1st and we just had a contest, this is NOT an April Fool. I just couldn't add this to yesterday's Winner Celebration Post or tomorrow's WYRI!)
I've been thinking for a while that children's authors get all the fun. Contests and prizes and being able to claim top finishes in Pretty Much World Famous Writing Contests. . .
It isn't entirely fair.
In the world of picture books, authors are only half the story.
We couldn't do what we do without our illustrators!
I think it's high time to let the illustrators have some fun and a contest and prizes and be able to claim top finishes in a Pretty Much World Famous Illustration Contest!
So that's what we're going to do!
Are you ready?
Announcing
the fact that this particular illustrator resembles a female is in no way meant to deter any male illustrators! :) |
They will narrow down the entrants to 6 finalists (or possibly a couple more or less depending on the number of entries :)) which will be posted here on Thursday May 1 for you to vote on for a winner. The vote will be closed at 5PM EST on Sunday May 4 and the winner will be announced on Monday May 5. (No PPBF on Friday May 2.)
First Prize is absolutely amazing! A portfolio critique by celebrated author/illustrator Michael Garland, who has over 20 picture books to his credit!!!
Everyone else (authors, parents, teachers, librarians, farm equipment retailers, etc. :)) think how much fun it's going to be so see what the illustrators come up with!
You've got three weeks, illustrators!
On your mark, get set, GO!!! :)
Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Kindness, Books for Girls, Iran, Bravery, Cultural Wisdom, Social Graces, Rita Jahanforuz, Vali Mintzi, Family, Ages 4-8, Ages 9-12, Fairy Tales, Picture Books, Mystery, Fractured Fairy Tales, Add a tag
Set in Tehran, Iran, this quite original tale is a reminder that story themes are universal. At times it has the feel of Cinderella with a cultural twist. Other times, it is reminiscent of Charles Perrault’s tale of the kindly sister and the bad-tempered sister, whose deeds have different outcomes.
Add a CommentBlog: Susanna Leonard Hill (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: contest, finalists, fractured fairy tales, writing fun, March Madness Writing Contest, Add a tag
I know you've all been on tenterhooks, waiting with bated breath, counting the minutes until you find out which of the amazing fractured fairy tales entered in the March Madness Writing Contest made the finals!
Well, I'd love to tell you, but we couldn't decide.
We agonized.
Seriously.
We've done nothing but eat, sleep and breathe fairy tales for the last 3 days solid. (Well, not counting a school visit on Tuesday which took me out of the judging room for a large portion of the day.) And we stayed up WAY past our bedtimes last night (which is likely to result in a challenging school visit today!), evaluating and re-evaluating, weighing kid-friendliness, story quality, creativity, and originality, good beginnings, good endings, and clever twists, stories for youngest readers, middle grade readers, and teen readers.
Any of you who had a chance to read through the entries will know how fantastic they were. Across the board you guys should all be so proud of yourselves! Not only did you show up, you delivered! And like I said, the choice was incredibly hard.
So, without further ado...
... let me give you a few statistics that I'm sure you'll find thrilling :)
In case you were wondering (admit it, you were), the fairy tale entries broke down as follows:
Tortoise & Hare: 1
Also, the human eye blinks an everage of 4,200,000 times a year... since we're talking statistics :)
And now, without further ado...
Wait. One more thing.
There were so many great entries we DID after much tearing of hair and rending of garments come up with a finalist list, but in order to do so we had to be incredibly picky about minute details. Many of the stories we cut were fantastic... but for one tiny detail which dropped them out of contention. So on Monday, when we announce the winners, we will also announce a list of 12 Honorable Mentions (a nice even dozen :)) who almost made the list and truly deserve recognition, and they will probably qualify for a little prize of some kind which I will think up over the weekend :)
VOTING: Please read through these 10 amazing stories, choose the one you think most deserves to win, and vote for it in the poll below. Stories are listed by number and title only - author's name deliberately omitted to help with objectivity in voting. If you'd like to share this post on FB, twitter etc. so that the deserving finalists get more reads and votes, you are encouraged to do so, but I ask that you please not attempt to influence the vote by requesting people to vote for specific numbers or titles. That is not in the spirit of the competition, and if I find out you've done it you will be disqualified.
And now, really without further ado...
...here are the 10 Finalists:
#1 The Three Wiggly Worms Bluff
#2 Sweetie Witch
#3 The Princess And The Stinky Cheese
#4 The Jackrabbit Who Cried Gila Monster
#5 Little Red Riding Hood And The Tiny Rude Bunny
Blog: Miss Marple's Musings (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children's books, Fractured Fairy Tales, competition, March Madness, story competition, Add a tag
Here is my entry to Susanna Leonard Hill’s marvelous March Madness story contest. My story comes in at 398 and is a mashup fractured fairy tale. The rules are, “Write a children’s story, in poetry or prose, maximum 400 words, … Continue reading
Add a CommentBlog: Susanna Leonard Hill (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: fractured fairy tales, prizes, writing fun, Lori Degman, Red Fox Literary, Karen Grencik, March Madness Writing Contest, Cori Doerrfeld, contest, Add a tag
Woo-hoo!!!
Spring is here!
And so is
*as in wild and wacky, not angry :)
"Fairy Tale" apparently turned out to be a very debatable term, so my fellow judges and I will do our best to handle whatever you've come up with.
Title not included in word count.
- 6th Prize (which just skated in under the wire - thank you Sudipta!) is a personalized signed copy of hot-off-the-presses SNORING BEAUTY by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
And don't forget, all you illustrators, that this will be followed by a related Illustrator Contest in April!!! (to be announced and elaborated on as soon as the writing part of the contest is over! :))
And now, so that everyone will feel happy and confident about posting their stories, I will share my sample, a Wild West twist on The Gingerbread Boy at exactly 400 words (phew!):
Wasn't that nice of me? Now you can all feel brave and smug, secure in the knowledge that your story is better than that!!! :)
Anyone besides me feeling an urge to sing?
"Like a Cornpone Cowboy
riding out on a horse in a star-spangled rodeo
Cornpone Cowboy..."
No? Darn! I was hoping the exceptional quality of my singing would distract you from that story even though "cornpone" doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "rhinestone" :)
I can't wait to read what you have all come up with! Let the fun begin! :)
And remember to check back here for entries added in the comments. I'll list them as they come in :)
Blog: Ink Splot 26 (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: bad hair day, whatever after, fractured fairy tales, Sneak Peek, Reads, Add a tag
Bad Hair Day Cover Reveal
Last year, STACKS readers voted to select the title of the 5th book in the Whatever After series. In this book, Abby travels through the magic mirror into the Rapunzel story, and the winning title is Bad Hair Day. Want to see what the title will look like on the book? Check out the cover!
What do you think? Whatever After #5: Bad Hair Day will be available on April 29!
Tell us in the Comments which Whatever After cover is your favorite. Visit the Whatever After site
to see them all.Thanks to all of you who voted!
Add a CommentBlog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Giveaways, Fractured Fairy Tales, Little Red Riding Hood, Melissa Sweet, Joan Holub, Handwriting, Add a tag
Enter to win a Little Red Writing prize pack. Giveaway begins September 15, 2013, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends October 13, 2013, at 11:59 P.M. PST.
Add a CommentBlog: The Children's and Teens' Book Connection (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Liz Pichon, tiger tales, Rachel Mortimer, The Children's and Teens Book Connection, Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf, fractured fairy tales, book reviews, Fantasy, Humor, fairy tales, children's fantasy, children's books, Children's picture books, Fairy Tales and Fables, Add a tag
Lovers of fractured fairy tales are bound to eat up this one. Mr. and Mrs. Wolf are angry that Little Wolf isn’t big and bad like they are. They send her out to gather ingredients for dinner and she stumbles upon Red Riding Hood in the forest. Little Wolf doesn’t know what to do. Perhaps the unlikely duo can find a solution to Little Wolf’s problem.
This is a fabulous book! It’s a neat twist having the wolf parents being the bad ones, while Little Wolf has no desire to eat little girls. Instead, she likes fairy tales and playing dress up. It’s also funny and unique how Red Riding Hood is reading some familiar fairy tales as she makes her way to grandma’s house. You simply can’t help but love this story. It’s so clever.
I knew Liz Pichon provided the artwork for this story without even looking. In addition to being the author of her own fractured fairy tale, her distinctive style adds beauty and humor to Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf.
Children will love this one. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Tiger Tales (March 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1589251172
ISBN-13: 978-1589251175
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.
Blog: Teach with Picture Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: picture books, book giveaway, fractured fairy tales, Peachtree Publishers, animal picture books, author's voice, Add a tag
Win this book! See below to enter. |
Listen to this text's unique voice as the story begins:
"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "A stampede's a comin'! I need to hightail it back to the ranch to tell Cowboy Stan and Red Dog Dan. They'll know what to do."
So away Mary ran, lickety-splickety, as fast as her little prairie chicken legs could carry her.
The book's fun is well supported by Henry Cole's splendid pictures. You might recall seeing his handiwork in Three Hens and a Peacock, mentioned here in a previous post. To me, Henry Coles' work is Audubon meets Looney Tunes. His animals are faithfully rendered in the physical sense, but with a personality and pluck that embodies them with all-too-human emotions. I particularly love that he gets us up close and personal with each animal, making the images seem larger than the book itself.
- In the event that your students are studying other ecosystems such as as rain forests or polar regions, you could adapt this idea, challenging students to create a crisis or calamity, as well as appropriate creatures who would help spread the word. It's a pretty cool way to synthesize students' collection of random facts from a unit into a creative response. Can't you just see a penguin or a toucan as the main character? The book Loony Little: An Environmental Tale by Dianna Hutts Aston does just that for the Arctic region.
- Fractured Fairy Tales are an all time favorite for kids to read, and they're fun to write as well. A recent post at the Peachtree Publishing blog provides some great titles to get you started.
- Contrast Prairie Chicken Little with other books of this genre such as Chicken Little by Rebecca and Ed Emberly, Chachalaca Chiquita by Melanie Chrismer, Earthquack by Margie Palatini, and The Rumor: A Jataka Tale by Jan Thornhill.
- Try some other fun animal activities! Lots to choose from in my previous Animal Attraction post.
- Have students research any of the animals from Prairie Chicken Little. Some of the real-life critters who populate this book sport some pretty amazing features. A good place to start? The Minnesota Prairie Chicken Society.
Simply email me at keithschoch at gmail dot com (standard format) with Chicken Little in the subject line, and you're all set! Contest ends on Friday, March 15 at 11:59pm EST. You can even double your chances to win by visiting other blogs on the Prairie Chicken blog tour.
Don't forget to enter to win a copy of Are the Dinosaurs Dead, Dad? as well. Contest ends 3/08/13.
Blog: Library Goddesses Picture Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: storytelling, three little pigs, wolf, fractured fairy tales, literary characters, gingerbread boy, Add a tag
Blog: The Cath in the Hat (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: picture books, fractured fairy tales, Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, Mo Willems, Add a tag
Reading Mo Willem's latest picture book, I had flashbacks to when I was a kid watching the hilarious Fractured Fairytales from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. A vivid memory is my father laughing even harder than me or my sisters. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs will likewise appeal to grown-ups as much as their offspring, which is a good thing as parents will probably be reading it aloud a lot.
Willems tweaks the familiar storyline so that Goldilocks is the victim and not the callous housebreaker of the Grimm version. The dinosaurs lure "a poorly supervised little girl named Goldilocks" to their home by preparing chocolate pudding and leaving the front door unlocked. What will keep kids chuckling is that the dinosaurs' nefarious plans are never directly stated. In fact, Willems goes out of this way to assure young readers that the dinosaurs "were definitely not hiding in the woods waiting for an unsuspecting kid to come by." The heavy-handed irony is consistent throughout the book and provides much of the humor. The more Willems insists the dinosaurs mean no harm, the more obvious it becomes that they do.
The illustrations give some of the best laughs. There's the door mat with the words "Tee-Hee" in parentheses under "Welcome" that Goldilocks blithely skips over. Or the telephone with an extremely long receiver designed to fit the dinosaurs' huge heads. Even the endpapers continue the fun. Willems has filled them with alternative ideas for titles, such as "Goldilocks and the Three Prairie Dogs," "Goldilocks and the Three Naked Mole Rats," or my favorite, "Goldilocks and the Three Wall Street Types." Now there's a scary fairy tale!
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs
by Mo Willems
Balzer + Bray, 40 pages
Published: September 2012
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Visiting from KidLit. :-)
Jennifer,
www.thejennyevolution.com