Ruby and the Sniffs

The spin-off of traditional stories and fables has long been a staple of the children's books, especially when it's a chestnut like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Unfortunately, sometimes the parody is so easy that the author basically repeats others' efforts. However, in "Ruby and the Sniffs," author and illustrator Michael Emberley writes a truly original story, using `Goldilocks' only as backdrop for the character, the irrepressible Ruby the Mouse. Ruby is a curious, mischievous mouse. In fact, he even fibs a little. While playing hide and go seek with his stern, seen-it-all babysitter, Mrs. (Edna) Mastiff he promises he won't hide by using any hallways or staircases-but that's exactly what he does. He climbs to the upstairs apartment, empty except for unpacked boxes and an odorous smell. Always wary of burglars, he announces himself loudly, but there is no reply. Sudden he hears a noise; it must be the burglars. She tries to hide under a bed, but one is too high, the second too low, and the third one falls apart. She awaits his fate. Suddenly, looming overhead, he sees the biggest, pinkest snouts he's ever seen: Stop sniffing me!" Ruby shouted. Leaping up, Ruby discovered that "the three enormous snouts were attached to three enormous pigs." "Look!" squealed the littlest enormous pig. "A gerbil! A gerbil!" Ruby straightened up. "Listen, Porkchop," she snapped, I am no GERBIL!" Several motifs recur after the initial meeting. These pigs apparently did just fall off the turnip truck, especially Poppa Pig, who is as full of slangy sayings as his tummy is full of trashy food ("Well twist my tail and call me a guinea pig!"), and there are a few echoes of Goldilocks: "And somebody," snorted Poppa Sniff, "has been eating my sticky fish heads." The beginning illustrations are of the Sunday comic variety, but Emberley's imagination and energy soar when he gets to the action pictures of the three pigs, the secret burglar, and Mrs. Mastiff "halting the intruder with a perfectly timed linebacker tackle." "Someone call nine-one-one!" shouted Ruby. "That's a good idea!" said Momma Sniff. "What's the number?" Ruby the mouse is loveable because of his energy and enthusiasm. Even though he cheats at hide and go seek, acts a bit cheeky towards his upstairs neighbors, and is your generic wise-guy, she has a helpful and somehow innocent quality. This is an enjoyable, funny book that brings clever dogs and the piggy pigs to a revitalized Goldilocks tale.