Goldilocks and the Three Bears

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Children find the story of Goldilocks delightful for so many reasons. There's a trespassing little girl, for starters, who barges into the bears' house uninvited and not only snoops around, but eats the bears' food! The suspense of wondering whether she'll get caught only adds to the thrill of the trespassing itself, and the repeated lines about the three bears with their three distinct voices, bowls, chairs, and beds further endear this tale to the preschool set. In Jan Brett's Goldilocks, the bears and the slightly audacious flaxen-haired heroine all sport traditional (Black Forest?) costumes with detailed embroidery, and the wooden furniture is carved with bears, birds, and flowers. (Intricate borders--carved wooden panels in this book--are Jan Brett's special signature.) Brett is the illustrator of many well-known folk tales, fairy tales, and poems, such as The Mitten and Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat. Of her exquisite interpretation of this beloved story, Booklist writes, "This is perfection." (Ages 3 to 6)


From Publishers Weekly
"Once there was a little girl named Goldilocks. 'What a sweet child,' said someone new in town. 'That's what you think,' said a neighbor." From the very first sentence this book takes off in typical Marshall style. Goldilocks is a self-satisfied girl used to doing exactly as she pleases. So when signs around the entrance to the shortcut read "DANGER," "TURN BACK," "VERY RISKY" and even "GO THE OTHER WAY," the undaunted lass tromps headlong into adventure. Once inside the house of the three bears, Goldilocks notices a lot of coarse brown fur and thinks, "They must have kitties." She thrashes her way through the bears' domain. Eventually, they return and scare the girl off, but whether or not she has learned her lesson is left to the imagination. Marshall's wonderfully unique characters are as offbeat and self-propelled as ever; the book boasts many jolly details and the pictures burst with color. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 Another delightful romp through the fairy tale forest from the author of Red Riding Hood (Dial, 1987) and James Marshall's Mother Goose (Farrar, 1986) . This retelling is a Victorianesque version of a chubby, blond-hair strong-willed ``naughty little girl'' who takes a shortcut through the woods on her way to buy muffins in the next village, and invades the home of the three sophisticated bears. While the basic storyline may be recognizable to young listeners, sight gags and ironic wit are whimsically employed for those who already know the tale and/or Marshall's other works (for example, a white hen perches atop the bears' house). The tone is straightforward and droll. Marshall is careful to include basic motifs from the original tale: the bowls of porridge, the chairs, and the beds, but he takes liberties in his commentary: ``She walked right in without even bothering to knock'' and in the characters' exclamations, like ``Patooie!'' and ``Egads!'' His playful watercolor illustrations fill the pages in their comic portrayal of these well-known figures. Whether shared in a lap or with a group, this one's a winner. Marianne Pilla, formerly at Allard K. Lowenstein Lib . of Long Beach, N.Y.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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PreS-Gr 2 Another delightful romp through the fairy tale forest from the author of Red Riding Hood (Dial, 1987) and James Marshall's Mother Goose (Farrar, 1986) . This retelling is a Victorianesque version of a chubby, blond-hair strong-willed ``naughty little girl'' who takes a shortcut through the woods on her way to buy muffins in the next village, and invades the home of the three sophisticated bears. While the basic storyline may be recognizable to young listeners, sight gags and ironic wit are whimsically employed for those who already know the tale and/or Marshall's other works (for example, a white hen perches atop the bears' house). The tone is straightforward and droll. Marshall is careful to include basic motifs from the original tale: the bowls of porridge, the chairs, and the beds, but he takes liberties in his commentary: ``She walked right in without even bothering to knock'' and in the characters' exclamations, like ``Patooie!'' and ``Egads!'' His playful watercolor illustrations fill the pages in their comic portrayal of these well-known figures. Whether shared in a lap or with a group, this one's a winner. Marianne Pilla, formerly at Allard K. Lowenstein Lib . of Long Beach, N.Y.


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