Five Books in Five Days – Day 1: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs…

A New week and a new project… we will be blogging all about books this week, in particular we are part of The Picture Book Party: Five Books in Five Days, running in conjunction with PanMacmillan South Africa and Walker Books UK…

A while back we wrote a post on How to Make a Book more Memorable… Some books just cry out for more than just a quick read and back into the library pile. Well this book cried out for a little celebratory feasting to go along with it as we read… And sticky chocolate pudding in a mug was the order of the day.

Here’s a link to our chocolate pudding recipe… We poured the mixture into mugs and the sauce over it and popped them into the oven till they were done. I don’t think anyone around here will be forgetting this book anytime soon, sticky chocolate dessert tends to fix things in our minds!!!

This is very much an “ahem” book… as the three dinosaurs tidy their house and leave it absolutely perfectly set up to perhaps trap a little wandering visitor, just perhaps. They weren’t perhaps laying a trap with three might big bowls of chocolate dessert laid out on the kitchen counter… the chairs too big and dinosaur sized for a little girl and the beds… Unfortunately even the quietest dinosaur whispers weren’t quite enough to escape Goldilocks, who happens to be wise beyond her ears… All’s well that ends well. A very fun, tongue in cheek, take on a traditional tale.

1. Big Mo Willemms fans over here and they loved spotting his famous pigeon, from his other books, subtly placed throughout the story.
2. Mo Willems’ fans will be pleased to discover a website filled with fun.
3. The illustrations are deceptively simple, there are lots of hints and little surprises on every single page… you have to love a picture book that entices you to linger longer.
4. Fairy Tales are fundamental to a child’s literary heritage, fairy tales with a wicked (not really) twist, really just up the game and make them a whole lot more fun for the reader and the listeners.
5. Loved the ending… its a book with, and I quote, from Hood #7: “A real ending.” And the real ending happens after the page that says “The End.”
6. Of course being a fairy tale, there is a moral to the story, and even a moral for dinosaurs, that some of us might like to take heed of: “Lock the back door.”
7. Our favourite page was actually way before the story began… publisher’s take note – children notice every single detail about the books they read. The page our gang lingered over the longest was filled with many, many potential stories… and as my little guys drifted off to sleep, it was very much a case of: “What if they were three mice, or three mastodons, or three orthodontists…”
   

   And the se7en + 1th thing…

8. Walker books has a heap of fun activity pages on their website and if you take a peak on this page you will spot a maze for Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs.

So for the rest of this week we will be blogging about books, books and more books… we would love you to join us. I am planning to end the week with a post of recommendations by our readers, so we really want to hear from you!!!

We were given a copy of this book for review by PanMacmillan South Africa, we were not paid for the review and the opinions expressed were as usual, entirely our own. If you want to know more about the Picture Book Party, click the image, it will take you there!!!