Brownilocks and the Three Bowls of Cornflakes. (Tadpoles Fairytales Twists). Enid Richemont. Illustrated by Polona Lovšin. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree, 2016. 32 pp., pbk., hc., & html, $8.95 (pbk.), $25.95 (List RLB), $20.76 (School RLB). ISBN 978-0-7787-2511-4 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-7787-2459-9 (RLB), ISBN 978-1-4271-7720-9 (html). Grades 1-2 / Ages 6-7. Review by Lorraine Jackson. **** /4

excerpt:

Mom, Dad, and Sam came back from their walk. Dad frowned. “Who’s been sitting in my chair?” he asked. “Who’s been sitting in my chair?” Mom gasped. Then Sam yelled, “Who broke my chair and ate all my cornflakes?”

In this charming twist on the classic story, Mom, Dad & Sam go out for a walk, and Brownilocks the bear visits their house, eats their food, and uses their furniture. Children who are familiar with the Goldilocks story are in for a surprise in Brownilocks and the Three Bowls of Cornflakes. As in the original, the visitor initially runs away in fear, but Brownilocks returns to the house the next day, tempted by the smell of the tasty cornflakes. Because she’s a “nice bear”, she is welcomed in and given her own bowl and chair.

     This pleasant story is written for beginning readers, but can be a read-aloud for younger children as well. The author uses nice bold text and simple but expressive language so young children will quickly master the text while learning descriptive words (Sam’s chair “snapped”). The full-colour illustrations are absolutely delightful. Beautiful bright colours can be found on every page, and the expressions on the faces of all the characters will certainly entertain and amuse everyone.

     At the end of Brownilocks and the Three Bowls of Cornflakes, there are three pages for teachers and parents that are devoted to literacy skill development.

Highly Recommended.

Lorraine Jackson is a cataloguer in the Queen Elizabeth II Library at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, NL.

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