Yours Truly, Goldilocks

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 characters--Goldilocks, the Three Little Pigs, Peter Rabbit, Little Red Riding Hood, Baby Bear and, of course, the Big Bad Wolf (aka Fer O'Cious)--continues 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 come--good news indeed. Ages 4-8. (May)