A familiar folktale with a microscopic twist.Tardigrades, also known as "moss piglets" and "water bears," are renowned for their extreme durability. So it is that when Mother Tardigrade, being "a staunch advocate for fostering early childhood independence," sends her offspring, Gavin, Colin, and Doug, off to explore the big wide world, they find agreeable new digs in (respectively) an erupting volcano, an Antarctic ice cave, and on the moon. Moments of terror ensue when a Big Hairy Wolf Spider tracks the three down in turn, but the extreme environments quickly send the hapless arachnid packing. Fay kits out her looming spider and rotund microfauna with big pop eyes for extra cuteness but otherwise renders them with reasonable accuracy and closes with boxes of tardigrade facts, plus a glossary of "slightly scientific terms" used in the narrative. Following the lead of Eugene Trivizas' Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig (1993), illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, the author also gives the tale a happily-ever-after for all, as the scorched, hypothermic, suffocated, but otherwise unharmed spider, "transparent liquid welling up in his lacrimal glands," tells Mother T that he was only looking to make friends, and she, suffering from empty-nest syndrome, invites him to stay for tea and cake.Compelling fare for bloodthirsty young STEM-winders. (source list) (Picture book. 6-9)

Substituting water bears for little pigs, Fay’s playfully STEM-centric tale introduces a trio of tardigrades dwelling together “in a cozy little drop of H20.” Though the family has a lovely life “ingesting algae, digesting algae,” and “excreting by-products of algae,” Mother Tardigrade at last tells Gavin, Colin, and Doug that it’s time to explore the big wide world, warning them of the Big Hairy Wolf Spider. As they seek new homes, fiery-tempered Gavin goes in search of an erupting volcano, “cool character” Colin sets out to find an underwater ice cave, and Doug (“not one for spontaneity”) makes his way to the moon. As the Big Hairy Wolf Spider appears in turn at each tardigrade’s doorstep, their ability to endure extremes saves them. Fay’s potato-and-paint artwork gives tidy graphical verve to this laugh-out-loud story of survival superpowers, told in fittingly fact-laden, serio-comic prose. More about tardigrades concludes. Ages 4–8. (Jan.)

PreS-Gr 2 —Yes! A book about the adorable moss piglet! What is there not to love? Fay's hilarious retelling of the "Three Little Pigs" about the tardigrade is not only a joy to read, but educational to boot. This is a brilliant introduction to the chubby, microscopic creatures written in a familiar pattern which helps to make the facts easily digestible. The illustrations are rather accurate cartoon versions of the micro-animals. The pictures throughout the book as well as the end pages include interesting details for those little ones who have a strong thirst for information. VERDICT Buy this! Especially where there is a need for picture books which introduce children to new, intriguing topics or creatures, urging their minds to think and question.—Cassie Veselovsky