Elspeth Lorraine

Hello Lorraine-inites! Hmmm. Maybe I’ll have to come up with a better name for my readers. That kind of sounds like y’all might have an invisible illness. Speaking of invisible things, this week we are celebrating “The Three Little Tardigrades”. Yes! I said celebrating. Because this is a perfect retelling of “The Three Little Pigs”. But instead of pigs, this is about teeny tiny invisible “moss piglets”. Sandra has the tagline of “A slightly scientific fairy tale” so plan on learning several fun science facts! 

Once there were three little tardigrades named Colin, Gavin and Doug. And their mother decided it was time for them to see the world, so one went to an erupting volcano, one went to an underwater ice cave in Antarctica and one stayed home until he researched every option thoroughly and then went to space. A great big wolf spider jumped out at each tardigrade and they were terrified! But the extreme atmospheric conditions had the spider scurrying away pretty quickly. When the wolf spider decided to visit Mother Tardigrade… instead of being scared, she invited him in for tea and they lived together happily ever after. Plot twist!

Bits and Pieces: The illustrations were created with potato print and watercolor. Gosh that’s cool. Maybe I should decorate my laundry space with little potato tardigrades. Is that crazy? Tell me Lorraine-inites, (Sorry, haven’t come up with a new reader identity for you yet) should I absolutely do this? This book was a scream. And we got science backmatter! Did you know tardigrades are sometimes called “water bears”? Have you ever heard anything more amazing? Researchers think tardigrades are even on the moon.

Not Sure About: I already told you it was perfect. Why are you still reading this section?

Favorite Part: Mother Tardigrade is rocking a silk bonnet and as my friend J said, “Yes! Finally representation for mom’s in bonnets!” Mother Tardigrade looked amazing and as a “staunch advocate for fostering early childhood independence” she was also an excellent mother. Gavin had SPF 9999 and a fancy drink with an umbrella in it when he’s vibing in the volcano and I was captured. Colin had a mug of hot cocoa and wore an adorable hat/mitten set while in Antarctica and it was beyond. Doug had a spacesuit and a flag bearing the likeness of a water splodge and I was entranced. 

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P.S. This book is currently on backorder so I recommend buying it sooner than later!

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