Moldilocks and the Three Scares by Lynne Marie and David Rodriguez Lorenzo - #3 for Children's Day

IN A HUGE HAUNTED HOUSE —

with room enough for four,

there lived three Scares:

Papa Scare, 

Mama Scare,

and Baby Scare. 

You can see where this is headed, already. Moldilocks and the Three Scares: A Zombie Tale by Lynne Marie and David Rodriguez Lorenzo is an updated, zombie-slash-monster version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and the first page (quoted above) hints at the twist at the end, as does the next page spread, which begins with Papa's musings:

One chilly night, Papa

sliced finger sandwiches and 

brewed a batch of Alpha-Bat 

Soup. "This recipe serves four. 

Just enough for one more."

Hint, hint. Mama wishes for an assistant. Baby says there's too much time and nobody to play with. The soup is poured in three bowls sized perfectly for Papa, who looks very much like Frankenstein, Mama, a Mummy (hahaha), and Baby, a little vampire. But, it's too hot. It boils Papa's bolts, unravels Mama, and gives Baby fang-ache, so they go off to walk the dog, Plasma. While they're gone, Moldilocks shows up, sleepwalking. She smells the soup and is lured to the house, which smells like home. She calls out but nobody is home so she tiptoes inside and, of course, samples all the soup. Too hot, too cold, just right, so she eats Baby's soup all up. You know the story. Moldilocks tries their chairs. Too hard, too soft, just right, but the baby's chair breaks. She tries their beds because she's sleepy. Too hard, too tight, and just right. She falls asleep.

The Three Scares arrive home, declare that someone has eaten their soup, tried their chairs, and tested their beds, always with Baby's being the one she ate, broke, or . . . fell asleep in, and there she is. Here's where the classic story takes a turn.

"HOW DARE YOU . . . 

. . . eat without us!" exclaimed Papa. "I've always

wanted another mouth to feed."

"You could be my

 lab assistant," mused 

Mama. "My nightmares have been answered." 

And, Baby is excited to have a playmate. As hinted at in the opening, there's room for four and the family is excited to add an extra member.

Highly recommended - What fun! I love an updated classic children's story and Moldilocks and the Three Scares is a joy with fun word play, like Baby holding out his Deady Bear and asking if Moldilocks wants to play Corpse and Robbers. Great for Halloween but also fun for any time of the year. Kids who love a surprising use of words will get the giggles and it's a sweet way to introduce the topic of adoption, showing how awesome it can be to add a family member! I love this book.

My thanks to Sterling Children's Books for the review copy! I would have loved to read this to my eldest granddaughter, this past weekend, since it's so perfectly holiday-appropriate, but it was way too noisy and crazy around the house with all the relatives and I totally forgot about it. Bummer. Might have to mail it to New Jersey so the kids can enjoy it. This is the final review for this Children's Day event! Thanks to all who stopped by!


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