Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4^-7. In this sequel to Dear Peter Rabbit (1994), a housewarming party is planned for the Three Little Pigs through a series of letters between the pigs, Goldilocks, Baby Bear, and Little Red Riding Hood. But the fairy tale characters aren't the only ones exchanging letters. Big, bad cousins Wolfy Lupus and Fer O'Cious have heard about the party and are writing each other with some plans that spell trouble for the party goers. The letter format is a bit confusing at first but will gain appeal as kids get the characters straight in their minds. Each attractive two-page spread features a letter and a facing full-page picture of the letter writer, often shown in some action that extends the story. Fans of the previous book or lovers of fractured fairy tales will be the book's natural audience. --Ilene Cooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this sly picture book, Ada and Tryon make a return visit to the storybook backdrop of their Dear Peter Rabbit. While the sequel succeeds as a stand-alone, it offers double the fun in tandem with its predecessor. The exchange of letters among familiar charactersÄGoldilocks, the Three Little Pigs, Peter Rabbit, Little Red Riding Hood, Baby Bear and, of course, the Big Bad Wolf (aka Fer O'Cious)Äcontinues as the pigs invite their pals to their new, wolf-proof home for a housewarming party. The wolf, however, has been spying on the pigs, and he hatches a plan of his own, suggesting that his cousin join him in an ambush. But the wolves haven't counted on Baby Bear's mother and her swift reflexes. The mixing and matching of nursery favorites provides a lively framework for the epistolary conceit and allows even the youngest readers access to the inside track. Amusing details, meanwhile, hook older readers (Goldilocks, for instance, is imagined as Mr. McGregor's daughter, and resides on Veggie Lane). Tryon enriches her delicate pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations with an abundance of delicious visual tidbits, as in the cover art, which shows the wolf on a stakeout, peering through a telescope at his prey. The ending hints of more adventures to comeÄgood news indeed. Ages 4-8. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3ÄLike Dear Peter Rabbit (Atheneum, 1994), this charming book tells its story through an exchange of letters. Here Ada chronicles the attempt of the three little pigs to plan a housewarming party. Meanwhile the villains from the previous title are still up to no good, spying on the residents of the forest and planning an attack on the homeward-bound guests. Fortunately, the surprise is on them and the two wolves lose both their pride and their fur. This is fairy-tale fun at its best. Following these well-loved characters on a new adventure tickles the imagination with fanciful "what ifs." Tryon's wonderfully intricate colored drawings, with their delightful details and carefully wrought scenarios, bring the action to life. Perspective plays an important role in many of the pictures, from the wolf's telescope-lens view of his victims, to an interior scene of Peter Rabbit's den. Warm colors and sharp details pull readers right into the Hidden Forest. The climactic scenes are on wordless double-page spreads that perfectly convey a sense of frivolity and fear, while the final letter leaves readers hoping for yet another installment. Get on the mailing list for these letters.ÄBeth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this epistolary companion to 'Dear Peter Rabbit', Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, Baby Bear, Peter Rabbit, and the three Pigs correspond about the Pigs' upcoming housewarming party. The letters weave bits from each characters' folktale into the story; the elaborate illustrations provide plenty of detail (camouflaged wolves are spying in many of the pictures), but two wordless spreads of the climactic party scene interrupt the story's pace. From HORN BOOK Fall 1998, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
