Knock! Knock! Knock! Who's There?

PreS-Gr 1—Bear is sleeping in his cabin when he is awakened: "KNOCK KNOCK! What? Who's there…? Boo! Booooooo! Boo! It's cold outside. Let me in! Booooooohoooooooo! What a strange voice. It sounds like…." And on the next spread is a large portrait of a "ghoooooooost!" The distressed bear gets out of bed and hears what sounds like an ogre, the Big Bad Wolf, and a witch. He then hears his pal Archibald and, relieved, he opens the door. "I've got a surprise for you…. I came with some friends!" Readers see the characters as the story unfolds, but it is not clear until the end that Bear does not. The omission of quotation marks may confuse some newly independent readers, but prereaders who listen and look at this story will enjoy the long vowel sounds and the drama of the common folk characters. Bold, high-contrast crayon illustrations are appropriate for group or lap-sharing.—Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI