Series: Gertrude & Toby Fairy Tale Adventures
Author: Shari Tharp
Illustrator: Jim Heath
Publisher: Atlas Publishing
Release Date: Jan. 9, 2017
Buy Links: Amazon & Other Retailers
My Rating: 4 Delightful ♥'s
Synopsis:
Gertrude the goat and Toby the tortoise are going fishing at Trout Lake for their Friday adventure. While at the lake, they see a little boy being dragged off by a hungry wolf! They follow the wolf and rescue the little boy, but the wolf doesn't give up. He goes after them, determined to get his lunch back!
Gertrude and Toby Meet the Wolf is
an exciting adventure story for children who are transitioning from beginning
readers to chapter books. This is the perfect book for the child who has been
tasked with the usual 30-minutes-per-night reading homework. From the
standpoint of reading progression, this title fills a specific niche that
represents a gap in the children's book market--longer illustrated children's
books that are more complex and challenging than typical picture books.
Gertrude and Toby Meet the Wolf incorporates
many traditional fairy-tale characters that will be immediately recognizable to
many young readers. These characters include the Boy Who Cried Wolf, the Three
Little Pigs, and of course, the Big Bad Wolf. The presence of these fairy-tale
characters adds familiarity for young readers and keeps alive the old tales
(e.g., those by the Brothers Grimm) that we have all come to know and love.
The first and second books in the series, Gertrude
and Toby's Friday Adventure and Gertrude and Toby Save
the Gingerbread Man, follow the same approach, incorporating fairy-tale
characters in contemporary settings. These are modern stories with more complex
plots and wording than those of standard picture books, but without the
daunting word count of typical beginning chapter books.
Gertrude the goat and Toby the turtoise head to the lake to fish in this third installment of the series. While debating the best bait (worms or beetles), they see a boy who continues to cry "Wolf!" Later, they see the boy captured by the wolf and decide they must help him. Before it's all over, the three little pigs are involved in the big save. The combining of fairy tale characters adds to the fun and excitement of the story while adding to the familiarity of the story for the target age group of six to eight year old children. I had the opportunity to read this to my nephew, and he absolutely loved it. The characters of Gertrude and Toby are funny and adventurous, giving children a shining example of friends helping friends while also entertaining them. The illustrations in this series are delightful (some of the best ever!) and just plain fun! This is a great read for young children! Sure to be a bedtime favorite! A Must Read!
Spotlight
on Author Shari Tharp:
●
Talk about your journey into the world of
writing and children’s books.
About
three years ago, my son asked me to read him a bedtime story, but it was very
late and I told him, “No, it’s too late.” He replied, “Well just tell me a
story then.” So I told him a story about a goat and tortoise who go on
adventures. The next night he asked for more of the story about the goat and
tortoise. So I made up a little more about the goat and tortoise’s adventures.
By the third night, the goat and tortoise were going to a candy store, but they
didn’t realize they had to pay for their candy, because the market owner had
given each of them a free sample and told them to “help themselves.” By that
point (the third night), the characters had started talking and dialoguing, and
that’s when I thought, “This could be a good story; I better write this down!”
●
What made you decide to intertwine fairy
tales into your books?
Well,
when I started telling my son the bedtime adventure stories about the goat and
tortoise, I wasn’t a fast enough thinker that I could create brand new
characters to the story on the fly. So I just added familiar fairy-tale
characters that the goat and tortoise met along the way. And those characters
remained true to their fairy-tale natures as I incorporated them into the goat
and tortoise story. :)
●
Gertrude & Toby are adorable
characters. What sparked them to life in
your mind and what convinced you to star them in your books?
My
son was always asking for a “baby goat” (which we were definitely not going to
get!). And my sister has a tortoise (it wandered into her yard one day). I
assigned the goat and tortoise names—Gertrude and Toby (alliteration, of
course!). When I first wrote the story, all the characters sounded the same
when they spoke, and when I shared the early versions of the Gertrude and Toby
story (book 1) with family and friends, somebody mentioned this. I realized
that I needed to better differentiate the personalities of the characters. So I
looked at the actions I had Gertrude and Toby performing and realized that
Gertrude was the impulsive leader. Toby is more careful (slow like a tortoise),
but also smart and a smart aleck as well. I also liked the idea of best friends
being able to razz each other a bit and joke around with each other. So I
started the “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” question-and-answer exchange,
with Toby always answering in a smart-aleck way. Some reviewers and readers have
considered Toby dim-witted as a result. That was not my intention, but that’s OK. That’s the beauty of
books/stories—they should be descriptive, yet open and subtle enough for
individual interpretation.
● What can readers expect from Shari Tharp in
the future?
More
published books I hope! Seriously, I am working on a Granny Frog series. It’s
about a grandma frog who babysits her grandfrogs while the parents work the night
shift at Toadstool Farm. But of course when grandma comes, it’s playtime. The
children know they can get away with maybe having a cookie before dinner and
not always following the strict rules their parents usually have in place.
Another funny twist is that Granny tells the froglets bedtime stories about her
life growing up. You know … like having to hop five miles uphill to a new pond
when her family’s pond dries up, etc. I’ve also written a cute slug story and
am working on a story tentatively called The Giant’s Castle.
●
Share the top five things you never leave
home without!
Hmmm
… lip balm, a credit card, my cell phone, different colored pens (red, blue,
purple, black, and green), and a stack of my books in my trunk!
Shari Tharp is a graduate of San Diego State
University and a former teacher. She currently lives in Southern California
with her husband and son. Her debut book, GERTRUDE AND TOBY'S FRIDAY ADVENTURE,
won a silver medal IPPY award for Best Illustrated Ebook.
The next two books in the series, GERTRUDE AND
TOBY SAVE THE GINGERBREAD MAN and GERTRUDE AND TOBY MEET THE WOLF, are
scheduled to be released in late 2016.
In addition to writing, Shari enjoys playing
chess, hiking, biking, and reading (of course!).
Illustrator Jim Heath:
Resides in Southern California with his family
Full-time graphic designer and illustrator
Originally from Huntington Beach, California and is still an avid surfer
2 comments:
Sounds very cute! I like the origin of the stories.
It's a delightful series! I'm sure kids will love it.
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