BooksForKidsBlog

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

The Crossover! The Little Blue Bridge by Brenda Maier

ONE DAY RUBY SPOTTED SOME BLUEBERRIES ACROSS THE CREEK.

"LET'S GO PICK BERRIES TO BAKE IN A PIE," SHE SAID.

DID SOMEONE SAY PIE?

Ruby's older brothers perk up their ears.

"OKAY WITH ME!" SAID OSCAR LEE.

"LET'S GIVE IT A GO." SAID RODRIGO.

"I'LL FIND A WAY" SAID JOSE'.

Ruby is used to being belittled by her big brothers. She's a girl. A little girl! But when they see big bully, Santiago, guarding the downed log that serves as a bridge across the creek, they get second thoughts. Jose', oldest brother, gives it a try, but Santiago demands a snack before letting him use his bridge. Jose' thinks fast.

"WAIT FOR MY BROTHER. HE PACKS A BETTER SNACK." OFFERS JOSE'.

Rodrigo gives it a go, promising that his next brother has a better snack in his pack. But Santiago claims that he's the boss of the crossing, Oscar Lee suggests he give the shakedown to his sister. A little sister? Santiago can't believe his luck. He's the boss and no little girl can beat him out of a fast snack! But Ruby claims she's carrying no snacks. No snack? Go back! Santiago proclaims.

"I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT SAY THAT!" SAID RUBY.

But little Ruby knows there's more than one way to cross a creek. And with some found blue planks and some pretty green vines, she begins to build her own bridge, while her brothers busily fill their pails with berries. Grasping the concept, Santiago pitches in to help Ruby complete the bridge and pick more blueberries, too.

And, oh my, there's plenty of blueberry pie for all and soon plenty of trip-trapping back and forth over the bridge for the new blueberry pie pals, in Brenda Maier's latest, The Little Blue Bridge, the companion book to her first fractured fairy tale, The Little Red Fort. Both books are super companion reads for savvy primary graders who are familiar with the original folktales of The Billy Goats Gruff and The Little Red Hen, and will love spotting and pointing out the parallels in the plots of the two classics. With the colorful individualized characters in the illustrations of Sonia Sanchez, Maier's latest is a good way to give youngsters a taste of the fun of the fractured fairy tale.

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