Big Bad Wolf

Classic fairy tale characters get much needed medical help in this humorous first book in an early reader series, originally published in the U.K. In the opening scene, Nurse Percy, a rooster, comforts a sheep in a red cloak "who was crying because she couldn't find her grandma." Just then, two penguin paramedics rush in with a wolf in polka-dot pants on their gurney. "Urgency emergency!" they shout. "We have a wolf here who is choking." A canine medic, Doctor Glenda, investigates, and she soon realizes (as many readers will have guessed), "It may not be something stuck in his throat--it may be someone." Doctor Glenda and Nurse Percy give the wolf the evil eye as she delivers her medical assessment, while the wolf (still choking) stares back guiltily, his pink tongue lolling from his mouth. Archer's thickly painted illustrations exude personality and humor, and emerging readers will get a kick out of seeing the repercussions of a familiar story play out in an emergency room setting. Doctor Glenda attends to a spider with a waterspout-related injury in Itsy Bitsy Spider, available simultaneously. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)

K-Gr 2--Both easy readers follow the same basic plot: Doctor Glenda, a dog; Nurse Percy, a chicken; and penguin paramedics bring the patient into the emergency room. In the first story, a wolf is choking. Doctor Glenda carefully explains that something is caught in his throat and must be removed but Nurse Percy is cowering under the gurney. This is a smart chicken-afraid of a wolf. Doctor Glenda quickly convinces him that the wolf is their patient and that he should overcome his fear and help out. Careful readers will noticed the sheep dressed in red in the waiting room who has lost her grandma. The staff squeezes her out of the wolf's stomach, calls the police, and everyone lives happily ever after. In the next book, a spider is taken to the emergency room by Miss Muffet, a cat. The spider fell down the waterspout and cut her head. Miss Muffet is afraid of spiders, but she knows that she has to get help for her. Doctor and Nurse stitch up the spider's head and, in spite of her fear, Miss Muffet takes her home and offers her curds and whey. The books feature one to three sentences per page, and the illustrations are large, colorful, and funny. Supplemental purchases useful for beginning-reader enjoyment or as introductions to emergency-room procedures.--Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City