Gertrude and Toby

Gertrude and Toby Save the Gingerbread Man
Book 2 in the Gertrude and Toby Fairy-Tale Adventure Series
ISBN: 978-1-9969679-4-5
Gertrude and Toby Meet the Wolf
Book 3 in the Gertrude and Toby Fairy-Tale Adventure Series
ISBN: 978-0-9969679-7-6
Author: Shari Tharp
Illustrator: Jim Heath
Atlas Publishing
Solana Beach, California
Hardcover
2016
$ 16.99
48 pages

Gertrude is a goat and Toby is a turtle who are best friends and live at McFarland Farms.
They are in the farmyard observing Farmer Sam and his son, Ryan trying to load their prize pig into a trailer to show at the county fair.
Anxious for adventure, Gertrude and Toby decided to follow Farmer Sam, his son, and the pig.
As they were walking, they noticed a flying carpet that seemed to be following them.   Almost immediately a girl and boy leaped onto the carpet while being chased by a witch.
Curious, Gertrude tossed Toby onto her back in pursuit of the children.
Surprisingly this how Gertrude and Toby meet Hansel, Gretel, and the Magic Carpet including additional visits from The Gingerbread and The Giant from Jack and the Beanstalk.
If Gertrude and Toby Meet the Wolf, the two friends sneak off the farm every Friday while the farmer is shopping.
This time the two decide to go fishing. 
As they near Trout Lake, a boy rushes by screaming, "Wolf."
Quickly they hide in the nearby bushes for safety.
As they continue, the boy runs by again screaming.
After he passes, the twosome walk to the lake, enjoying their fishing.
Again they are interrupted when the boy shouts again only, this time Gertrude and Toby see the wolf dragging the boy.
That is when they decide to help.
They followed the wolf to his cave which is very brave for a goat and a turtle.
In Gertrude and Toby Meet the Wolf, the story intermixes The Boy Who Cried Wolf along with The Three Little Pigs.
Author Shari Tharp won a silver medal from  IPPY, Independent Publishers Book Award for the first book in this series as an illustrated e-book with Gertrude and Toby's Friday Adventure.
Illustrator Jim Heath is a graphic artist and California resident.
The Gertrude and Toby books are for children from preschool to age eight who have a little background with the traditional fairy tales.   The books are fun with vocabulary appropriate for the age level and the illustrations perfectly matching the text.
These are great books for expanding imaginations with young children and a creative step-off point into having the readers write and illustrate their own Gertrude and Toby fairy-tale adventure.