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Summary
Summary
Who will Lucy and her dog, Mr. Barker, see on their fairy-tale adventure? Peek through from scene to scene to guess who they might meet next.
Lucy is reading a fairy tale to Mr. Barker, but her dog has other ideas. When he jumps out the window -- landing in a cottage with a broken chair, three bowls of porridge, and a little golden-haired girl -- Lucy is right behind him. Goldilocks would rather not be there when the bears return, so she joins Lucy and Mr. Barker as they continue on their way, adding a trio of pigs, a boy with a goose, and a just-awakened princess during their journey. What happens next? Cutout windows throughout add visual surprises to this lighthearted fractured fairy tale.
Author Notes
Jessica Ahlberg is the illustrator of The Goldilocks Variations, written by her father, Allan Ahlberg, and Yucky Worms by Vivian French. She lives in England.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-When Lucy's dog, Mr. Barker, becomes bored with the story she's reading him and leaps out a peek-through window, the pair soon find themselves inside different fairy tale scenes. From the home of the Three Bears, they seek refuge with the Three Pigs. They then find themselves in the Giant's home atop Jack's beanstalk, later in Sleeping Beauty's bedchamber, then hurrying past a gingerbread house in the forest, and finally back in Lucy's room, safe from bears, a wolf, a giant, and a disgruntled fairy. Upon entering each new scene, Lucy asks, "Where are we?" Knowledge of the tales represented in this book will greatly enhance children's enjoyment as they follow the characters and join Lucy in saying, "Oh! I know where we are," even before a page turn reveals the answer. Sharp youngsters will notice that the poster in Lucy's room in the opening scene contains a foreshadowing of the tales she will encounter, and subsequent charming watercolor illustrations are filled with details that will help identify those stories. There are plenty of visual jokes to entertain adults reading the story aloud as well. For example, a sign in the Three Bears' home reads, "Home is where the porridge is," and the knobs on the stove point to "too cold," "too hot," and "just right." VERDICT Sturdy pages will ensure that the book holds up through repeated journeys as readers enjoy many trips through the different peek-through openings to discover in each scene.-Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Greenwich, CT © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Ahlberg (The Goldilocks Variations) delivers a lighthearted romp through several fairy tales, with cutout doors and windows helping guide the action from one story to the next. After Lucy's dog, Mr. Barker, dashes out the window, she follows him into a house where a "golden-haired girl" is enjoying porridge, a home made of straw, and one where they are dwarfed by enormous furniture. "Oh!" Lucy remarks each time. "I think I know where we are." In many ways, this feels like a tender, 21st-century companion to Ahlberg's parents' classic Each Peach Pear Plum; as in that book, a gentle sense of humor (this giant up the bean stalk has knuckle tattoos) and cozy, detail-rich artwork should keep children engrossed and amused for hours. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The scion of Janet and Allan Ahlberg continues the family tradition with another novelty fractured fairy taleactually, make that tales. Lucy begins right on the endpapers with a story for her dog, Mr. Barker, but by the title page it is clear he isn't listening. He leaps out of the window of her rooma child's delight with books and toys and a mural that will figure prominently in the rest of the tale. It's a cutout window, so Lucy pops through herself, finding a golden-haired girl eating porridge on the other side. Lucy muses, "I know where we are," and invites Goldilocks to leave with her, as the bears are on their way home. They run to the straw house of the three little pigs (Goldie does not let go of her bowl of porridge), where they suggest that the pigs join them to avoid the wolf. They pop through to three more fairy-tale settings, each time peering through a cutout window to the next scene and bringing along characters from the preceding tale before returning to Lucy's bedroom. There are nice details, such as the drafting table upon which the piggies are sketching a house of sticks, and lovely sunlit colors in each spread. Within this most European of conceits, Ahlberg injects some diversity: Goldie is blonde, Jack is a redhead, Lucy is a brunette with tea-colored skin, and Sleeping Beauty might be Latina or South Asian in her heritage. A fairy-tale mashup light as a feather and pretty as a sunny morning. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Lucy sits in her fairy tale-themed bedroom and reads her dog a story until, distracted, he leaps out the window. Following him, she finds herself in the three bears' house, where she meets Goldilocks. Together they flee through a little doorway that leads into a house made of straw. Warning the three pigs of the approaching wolf, they all jump through the back window and, as the drama unfolds, interrupt even more fairy tales to rescue the heroes and escape with them, with an ever-increasing crowd of villains in pursuit. Finally, Lucy's new friends find safety and comfort in her bedroom, where she reads them (you guessed it) a fairy tale. Ahlberg's charming line-and-wash artwork features beautifully detailed, distinctive settings filled with visual clues indicating which traditional tales are taking place. Preschoolers will enjoy discovering these details almost as much as they will love peeking (or poking their fingers) through the little cutout window or door appearing on every spread. Fortunately, the book's heavy paper is sturdy enough to withstand a certain amount of interactive use. Just as Janet and Allan Ahlberg's preschool classic Each Peach Pear Plum (1979) introduced nursery rhymes, their daughter's engaging picture book offers a playful introduction to fairy tales.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist
