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A country girl at heart, with fond memories of the dark desert sky, purple mountains and freshly cut alfalfa fields in her hometown of Blythe, California, budding author Elsa Takaoka puts her pen to paper and creates a fun and heart-warming story. Spinning words with natural creativity, Elsa discovered her love of language at a very early age. She then pursued a career in Speech Language Pathology and English as a Second Language until the birth of her first daughter. Reading to her own little girls sparked her whimsical journey through children’s literature and dropped one more goal into her bucket list. Her dream to write and publish a picture book was achieved with Goo and Spot and The Do Not Wiggle Riddle, her first of many books to come. Currently, Elsa lives in Fukuoka, Japan with her sources of inspiration- her loving husband and their two adorable little girls.
Reviewed by Bil Howard for Readers' Favorite
Elsa Takaoka and Catherine Toennisson have combined their talents to create the delightful children’s book Goo and Spot in the Do Not Wiggle Riddle. Packed with fun and full of color, this rhyming riddle progresses through a series of fun activities and funny creatures that captivate the imagination. Like all riddles, there is something hidden in the story that must be solved. Each clue not only stirs the imagination of the two listeners, Goo and Spot, but also excites them, and whenever Goo wiggles, Spot does too. Giant bumblebees and squishy green slugs, dancing flamingos in shorts, and three toads with giant warts are only a few of the colorful creatures featured in this riddle. Ultimately, the riddle is about the importance of sitting still and listening whenever someone is reading or telling a story, but it is done in a very subtle way.
The magical imagination of children is stirred and their laughter can almost be heard as you work through the colorful rhymes of Goo and Spot in the Do Not Wiggle Riddle. Elsa Takaoka has created a riddle with a great lesson in it, but done so in a way that is certain to tickle the funny bone of every child (and even a few adults who never grew up). Catherine Toennisson has added her expertise in animation and story-boarding in a way that makes the action and color leap off of the pages. It is impossible not to wiggle when reading this book because it simply draws it out of you. Fun, creative and colorful, Goo and Spot in the Do Not Wiggle Riddle is a fantastic debut for these two extremely talented artists and ought to be the first of many award-winning children’s classics to come.
