The Little Blue Bridge, Hardcover

The can-do heroine from the acclaimed The Little Red Fort returns in this fresh, feminist spin on The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Readers will happily discover that trip-trapping to friendship and cooperation is indeed a pie-worthy prize. -- Kirkus Reviews

Ruby's mind is always full of ideas.

One day, she spies some blueberries across the creek and invites her brothers to pick some. Unfortunately, the bridge is blocked by scary Santiago.

I'm the boss, and you can't cross... unless you give me a snack, he demands.

One by one, the brothers scamper across, promising Santiago that the next sibling has a better snack. When at last it's Ruby's turn, she refuses to be bullied and creates her own way to cross the creek.

This modern spin on a classic tale weaves folklore, feminism, STEM, and a Latinx cast into a delightful read-aloud that celebrates creativity and building bridges of friendship and community.

About author(s):Brenda Maier's debut picture book, The Little Red Fort, was called inspired by the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books in a starred review, and was named a Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year, a Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year, and winner of One Book for Colorado. Brenda is a public school teacher and a gifted education specialist. When she isn't writing, Brenda enjoys traveling with her family, baking peanut-free cookies, and watching her five children build amazing creations from found materials. She lives near Tulsa, Oklahoma. You can learn more about her work at brendamaier.com.



Sonia Sánchez paints with both traditional and digital brushes, using layers of texture in her work to evoke emotion and movement. She is the illustrator of The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier; The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits and The Curious Cares of Bears, both by Douglas Florian; and Sister Day! by Lisa Mantchev. Sonia lives with her husband and son and a sleepyhead cat in a blue house near the Mediterranean Sea on the eastern coast of Spain.