Jan Fearnley

This humorous tale merges the characters of the traditional Goldilocks story with two jovial additions: Mr. Wolf and his cheerful Grandma. In celebration of Baby Bear’s birthday, the wolf pair cooks up a splendid feast for all the party guests to enjoy. But, when the mischievous, ill-mannered Goldilocks barges in on the festivities, the atmosphere turns to bleak. Just when it looks as though the party has been all but ruined, Grandma Wolf cunningly saves the day…and shocks readers with a show more hilariously ironic twist! Animated scenes span each page, as portrayed through painted illustrations with bright colors and subtle texturing. The text features both descriptive and dialogic sentences, ranging in length and composition. Owing to the moderate amount of text, embedded tones of sarcasm and wit, and subtle cues for emphasis and vocal inflection, this picture book is best introduced as a read-aloud for toddlers and young children—though adults will likely enjoy the tale as well! show less

My, oh my what an amazingly delicious...spicy…ENORMOUS turnip! To Mr. Wolf’s delight, an incredibly large tuber has sprouted in his garden. But, try as he might, he simply cannot rip the root from the ground! Amidst his struggles, Mr. Wolf meets a sad little frog with woes of his own: once a handsome prince, the frog desperately awaits the kiss of a princess to break the evil spell. The pair set off to the royal palace in search of solutions to both their problems. Far from predictable show more despite the initially familiar plot, this jovial tale boasts of friendship, kindness, and shocking twists! Animated scenes span each page, as portrayed through painted illustrations with bright colors and subtle texturing. The text overlays the images and is embedded within the background colors. Variation in text size and configuration is used to cue the reader to emotion, sound, and emphasis. Owing to variation in the length, structure, and number of sentences, young readers may struggle without the support of an experienced reader. This humorous and witty tale will entertain both children and adults while simultaneously conveying important life lessons. show less

A wonderful book for any child who may feel left out---particularly the middle child. Jan Fearnley is brilliant in her storytelling----as the book unfolds Martha discovers exactly why it is BEST to be in the middle. I have to admit I didn't see it coming and I don't want to give it away. Illustrations are beautiful too. A family favorite.

I liked the language used in this book because it enhances the story and helps the ideas flow. The detailed illustrations tie in with the text nicely. The overall theme of the story is touching and evolves at a nice pace.

The language in this book is interesting in the sense that it uses different writing concepts like simile and metaphor. It also includes descriptive words that intensify what the sentence is about. An example in the book is when the frog in the book says “I’ll jump as show more high as the sky and bring you the juiciest bugs”. The illustrations cover up most of the page and tie in with the text well. Going back to the quote mentioned regarding the frog, the corresponding picture shows a very big frog in the midst of jumping in the air trying to get the ladybug for the smaller frog on the next page. The frogs have cool spots on them and they both look really happy. The theme of the story is about two mice going around their habitat and seeing what other animal parents would do for their children. This book is written in a way that it shows many examples of different animals that are doing actions the mice cannot do but emphasize the love the mom mice has for her baby mice instead. It is a different way of showing the parental perspective when it comes to displaying love to their children and how there are many ways to do so. In the end of the book, the mom mice says to her child “ …I promise I will always love you and care for you. And I’ll do it with all my heart.”

The main message in the story is that parents have different ways of showing affection to their children. Just because a parent can’t do the same thing a different family is doing, does not mean they love their child any more or less. show less