Los Siete Cabritillos

K-Gr 3-In this adaptation from the Brothers Grimm tale, a lean and vivid narrative is combined with colorful Claymation-style illustrations to draw in young readers and listeners. While their mother is away, six young goats fall prey to the wily wolf, but the youngest escapes by hiding in a grandfather clock. Thanks to the information he provides, the mother is able to track down and rescue the other five. Children used to the sanitized version of Grimm will love the vivid grotesqueness of the mother goat's cutting open the sleeping wolf's stomach and replacing her rescued children's gap with rocks. Some U.S. readers may be momentarily puzzled by a few second-person plural verbs but, otherwise, this is a grand retelling with delightfully playful artwork. Recommended for school and public libraries. Coop Renner, Paul C. Moreno Elementary School, El Paso, TX