G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Goldi Rocks and the Three Bears by Corey Rosen Schwartz & Beth Coulton

“Goldi Rocks and the Three Bears puts a perfect twist on a beloved fairytale classic,” says reviewer MaryAnne Locher.

Goldi-Rocks-cvr.jpg
Gold Rocks and the Three Bears by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Beth Coulton with illustrations by Nate Wragg, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2014.

In Goldi Rocks and the Three Bears by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Beth Coulton with illustrations by Nate Wragg, (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $16.99, Ages 5-8), the story begins with Papa, Mama, and Baby bear who have their own rock-n-roll band, but are in need of a soprano. When they leave their cottage to find one, the story, written in pitch perfect verse, follows the original tale. Goldi Rocks comes knocking on the three bears’ cottage door, only to find it unlocked, empty with some porridge cooling on the table. This is where the story takes a spin faster than a D.J. scratching records. Goldi forgets her hunger when she sees the music studio with Papa Bear’s drums, Mama Bear’s guitar, and Baby Bear’s keyboard, all of which she must try out, making a mess of things as she goes.

Meanwhile, the bears are holding auditions with some other familiar fairytale characters, but none of them quite work out. The bears return home only to find the cottage a terrible mess and Goldi Rocks asleep on Baby Bear’s keyboard.

They stared at the
slumbering blond girl,
and Papa asked,
“Who could she BE?”
He disrupted her dream.
She awoke with a scream-
the pitch was a perfect high C!

The three bears quickly forget about the mess Goldi had made once they hear her fine soprano voice, and ask her to join the band.

Corey Rosen Schwartz is no stranger to the fractured fairytale, her previous success being The Three Ninja Pigs, but forming a duo with co-author Beth Coulton makes for a chart topper! This may be Wragg’s debut picture book, but his background in animating projects including Ratatouille, Toy Story 3, and Puss in Boots give him the chops needed to bring this book to life through his illustrations.

Just as the band’s song,“Too Hot, Too Cold, or Just Right?” is a hit single, I believe this book will be as well.

Share this:

Blanket & Bear, A Remarkable Pair

Where Do Lost Stuffed Animals and Baby Blankets Go? Read on to find out!

by L.J.R. Kelly with illustrations by Yoko Tanaka
by L.J.R. Kelly with
illustrations by Yoko Tanaka

Blanket & Bear, A Remarkable Pair (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, $16.99, ages 3 and up), the debut picture book from L.J.R. Kelly (grandson of Roald Dahl) with illustrations by Yoko Tanaka, is an ideal parents’ go-to book when beloved toys get lost. Some parents buy two of everything just-in-case, others spend hours retracing their steps or making frantic phone calls in an attempt to locate a lost teddy or blanky. But here’s another option. Read this picture book to your distraught youngster and it’s likely they’ll find solace in this charming story with its muted artwork harkening back to a time when men wore hats, women wore dresses and people traveled abroad by steamship. Parents may find Tanaka’s illustrations a bit sombre in the beginning, but I found that as the story’s mood changed, so did the feeling conveyed in each picture. Stick with this story as it tugs at the heartstrings and is sure to start a meaningful conversation with your child.

With an original voice very different from that of his grandfather, Kelly is a terrific storyteller in his own right. The premise is quite a simple one in that when a young boy loses his beloved blanky and teddy, he carries on with his life. The focus is not on how he copes with the loss.  Quite the contrary. Kelly chooses to show how the boy’s cherished possessions, spend their time searching for the boy, hoping to be reunited. Instead, they arrive “at an island of lost blankets and bears, living in retirement without worries or cares. It’s here they sadly learn from the island’s king that they’ve likely been replaced. Unable to accept this possibility, they depart and resume their quest. When at last they find the boy, he’s a young lad more interested in sport and girls. No longer needed, they’re free to return to the island and join the other lost or abandoned blankets and bears.

Children hearing this story read to them or reading it with the help of a parent, will likely want to discuss this new take on “they all lived happily ever after,” because in this case the book’s characters did not end up living happily ever after together, but there’s no denying they were all happy in the end.

– Reviewed by Ronna Mandel

Share this:

Imagine All The Fun

51y8ExSkxHL._SL500_AA300_ Molly Lou Melon is a little girl with big hair and a gigantic imagination. This second book in the Molly Lou Melon series, Have Fun, Molly Lou Melon, (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $16.99, Ages 4-7)  is all about making the most of playtime. Molly Lou has a toy chest overflowing with all the toys any child could want, but her grandmother tells her how things were in the olden days when there weren’t a lot of fancy toys and action figures to play with. Back then kids made toys themselves out of things they found laying around and out of their imaginations.

So Molly Lou Melon takes what she learns from her grandmother and fills her playtime with magical tree houses and hand painted boxcars. And instead of watching TV, she watches the wondrous clouds while lying in the grass and finds endless hours of entertainment there. One day Molly Lou invites her new neighbor, Gertie over to play. Gertie brings her fancy dollhouse to show her new friend, while Molly Lou shows Gertie her tree root palace.  Can these new friends agree on how they will play together? Fancy toys or imaginative ones?

The glorious illustrations by David Catrow in this fantastic book are just as imaginative as Molly Lou Melon herself. They are colorful and wispy and full of great detail. Your child will enjoy examining every single page and lingering a while. What you’ll appreciate most about this book is that both the illustrations and the words by author/teacher Patty Lovell will inspire your children to get creative for playtime. And they might just ask you to lie on a blanket with them outside and look up at the clouds for a while to see what you can see. What could possibly be better than that?

large_stand-tall-molly-lou-melon_001If you love this book, as I know you will, check out the first book in the series, Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, also by Patty Lovell and David Catrow.

-Reviewed by Debbie Glade

Share this:
Back To Top