Greg Gormley

Fairy-tale-loving Frankie gets a surprise one morning when a series of characters from her favorite stories show up at her house, asking for her help in hiding from a witch. With a princess climbing in the window, a unicorn in her closet, a mermaid in the bathtub, a knight hiding behind the coats, a frog in the cereal box, and a king disguised as a lamp, it's a full house. But where is Frankie going to hide, when the witch shows up...?

The first of two books about Frankie and her fairy-tale show more friends, Fairy Tale Frankie and the Tricky Witch offers a lighthearted look at some of children's literature's best-known character types. Author Greg Gormley's story is amusing, and I liked the surprise resolution, in which the fairy-tale characters turn out to be playing a game of hide and seek. Illustrator Steven Lenton's artwork is colorful and cute, and I appreciated the scene in which the book must be turned on its side, to see the layout of Frankie's entire house. I tracked this one down because of my interest in witchy picture-books - a pet project of mine - and am glad to have read it. While it won't be going on any of my favorites lists, either as a fairy-tale mash-up or as a witchy tale, it was entertaining, and is one I would recommend to young fairy-tale lovers, particularly those who dream of meeting the characters in their most beloved stories. show less

Gormley's All about Allosaurus is an adorable little read teaching kids about selflessness and getting along. Allosaurus is upset because T. Rex gets all the attention, so he decides to write a book all about Allosaurus. As he's writing, several dinos find him and when they learn he's writing a book, they all ask to be in it. One by one, Allo agrees, only to realise once he's finished, that there's nothing about Allosaurus in it at all! What's a poor Allosaur to do?

My cubs and I loved this show more story. And I agree, Allo! There should be more about these gracile predators in general! T. Rex is everywhere. (I was thrilled when the second Jurassic World movie had allosaurs. They are one of my faves. Then again, I tend to go against what's *popular*) Dude, that pterosaur is a Quetzalcoatlus. Just saying. Also, Allosaurus isn't *that* much smaller than T. Rex.

***Many thanks to the Netgalley & Quarto Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. show less

This was an adorable book. Any book with a dog/puppy as the main charactor is always going to be cute. The puppy goes through the whole story wanting different shoes for different occasions. At the end of the story, the puppy realized that his paws were all that he needs. There isn't a really strong message or theme, but it was a cute, fun book that young children, ages 5 and up, would enjoy.

I thought this book was okay. The illustrations were cute and colorful and fit the text, but I did not feel that they did much to enhance the story or set the mood. I felt that the plot was predictable: Dog turned his nose to the plain little girl but she saw potential in him and he accepted her in the end. There was not much conflict throughout the book and there was no tension. The writing was organized and the story overall was well-paced. The message of the story was that people will show more love you for who you are and that you do not have to cater to other's expectations. I felt that this was a good message for children to learn, but I also felt that it could be shown in a less-obvious way and in a more relevant way. I felt that this story was an example of a thinly veiled moral. show less