HEY, MAMA GOOSE

Mother Goose is the real-estate agent who rearranges the traditional settings of her famed tales. When an unhappy and tired-of-being-crowded Old Woman approaches her, Mother Goose suggests a move from her shoe to the roomier home of Snow White. Each fairy tale character has a reason for finding the grass greener on the other side, and before too long, they have all relocated. But when the Old Woman peeks out her door and spies the porridge stand the three bears have established in her old abode, she realizes how nice her shoe house really was. And with a shout from her (“It’s time to go back!”), they all return to their homes and wonder why they ever left. Zalben’s rhyming couplets set the perfect rhythm, while Chollat’s brightly colored cartoon illustrations will tickle funny bones. Children will enjoy searching out their favorite characters in their new settings, and adults will chuckle at the visual elements placed just for them. (Picture book. 2-7)