Yours Truly, Goldilocks

Title: Yours Truly, Goldilocks
Author: Alma Flor Ada
Illustrator: Leslie Tryon
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Edition: August 1, 2001
Language: English
40 pages
Ages 4 and up



Goldilocks, the Little Red Riding Hood, the Three Pigs, and other well-known fairy tales characters come to life in this enchanting little book.

The epistolary form used to tell the story  is imaginative and very well done. Each letter is written in a different typography (hand writing) and on a different stationery, details which add to the charm of this book. 

I read this book to 1st and 2nd grade students. They enjoyed the story and the illustrations very much and loved to look at the detailed map.

 It is a great way to teach student about letters. But the vocabulary can be very difficult for young readers. I understand that some letters were written by the wolves, aka the "older" characters in the story, but the story is meant for children and so the humor was totally lost on them.  It was however not lost on me as I had a good laugh about it.

So overall I would recommend this book, even to young children but an older audience would probably like it more. Just expect to explain quite a few words to children as they won't always understand the vocabulary.

Just Being Audrey

Title: Just Being Audrey
Author: Margaret Cardillo
Illustrator: Julia Denos
Publisher: Balzer + Bray, An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers
First edition: January 25, 2011
Language: English
32 pages
Ages 4 and up


“Just Being Audrey” by Margaret Cardillo, illustrated by Julia Denos. A lovely and short biography of Audrey Hepburn’s life. The drawings are all amazing! It’s a very nice book to read to children!

The story starts when Audrey is very small.  A side of her life that not many know, especially if you have never read biographies about her.

The book talks about her dream of becoming a ballerina dancer.  I love this part because it shows that despite being teased at school, Audrey kept thinking about her dream and persevered in her work.

And how she became an actress. Gorgeous drawing by Denos!

The book also mentions her life outside the screen.  Despite being rich and famous, Audrey never forgot the poor and helpless and I think this is important to remember about her.

There are many more illustrations and they are wonderful to look at. The text is easy to read and the drawings complement the text perfectly. 

I would recommend this book without hesitation because it is so heartwarming and sweet.

Audrey Hepburn is a great model of kindness and grace for children to learn from.