Review: Gertrude and Toby’s Friday Adventure

Title: Gertrude and Toby’s Friday Adventure
Author: Shari Tharp
Publisher: Atlas Publishing
Release Date: December 2015
Length: 48 pages
Series?: Gertrude and Toby #1
Genre: Children’s

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon

Gertrude the goat and her best friend Toby the tortoise are adventurers. No sitting around on the boring farm for them! They love to explore, and every Friday they sneak off the farm for some extra fun. One Friday, Gertrude and Toby decide to visit the local candy store in town. They discover yummy goodies and treats, but soon find that the treats are not free!? Uh oh! The market owner grabs Toby. He demands money for the candy that Gertrude and Toby have taken by mistake. Gertrude must find a way to save her friend and get back home before Farmer Sam returns.

The Skinny

Gertrude and Toby aren’t the usual farm animals. They live on MacFarland Farm, but they are the adventurous sort. Every day they get into something new, and Fridays are saved for the biggest adventures when Farmer Sam goes into the city. One particular Friday they decide to go to Hay Bale Market. Along the way, they run into all of the classic characters in the fairy tales: Red Riding Hood, Princess and the Frog, Snow White’s Evil Queen, Jack and the Beantstalk, and the Gingerbread Man.

During their adventure to Hay Bale Market, things go horribly wrong when the market owner, Alex, catches Gertrude and Toby stealing! The events that ensue are some of the classic fairy tale endings, and help Gertrude resolve her problem.

The Highs and Lows

• Illustrations. The illustrations are fabulous. Gertrude and Toby are so cute!
• Fairy Tales. How ingenious to incorporate several of the popular fairy tales into Gertrude and Toby’s adventure! At first I thought it was just to help tell the story, but each of these characters is integral to the plot and part of the resolution.
• Gertrude and Toby. What great friends! They are like a little old couple, but they are the best of friends and have a ton of fun!

The Take-Away

A cute and quick read that incorporates several classic fairy tales in a new and fresh way!

Recommendation – Buy, Borrow or Skip? 

This would be a cute series to start keeping up with, or gift to a young reader.