The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (Putnam, 2007). Aloo-ki is a young Inuit girl. Her huskie team has floated away from her on an ice flow, and she sees a little igloo with the warm smell of soup. What follows is, of course, her finding what is just right in the house: the smallest bowl of

Read Post

Goldilocks by Ruth Sanderson (Little, Brown, 2009). Although Ms Sanderson’s story begins in a traditional way, the end has a rewarding twist. Goldilocks stays to help make the beds, repair baby bear’s chair, and then, just when she thinks she will be eaten, she suggests her gathered blueberries. The book includes a recipe for the blueberry muffins

Read Post

Goldie and the Three Bears by Diane Stanley (HarperCollins 2007). As the cover suggests, Ms Stanley’s version of the story has an autumn setting. Young Goldie is a picky girl who only likes her peanut butter sandwiches one way, loves to read books every afternoon, and otherwise ostracizes friends by her honesty about her preferences. One day,

Read Post

Rubia and the Three Osos by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Hyperion Books, 2010). Rubia is a retelling of the story, using interspersed Spanish vocabulary words. The family of bears leaves their sopa (soup) on the table when they go for their walk, and Goldilocks discovers it is caliente and frío, a chair is too suave, and so forth. Raisin didn’t

Read Post

The 3 Bears and Goldilocks by Margaret Wiley, illustrated by Heather Solomon (Atheneum Books, 2008). Margaret Wiley’s retelling is one I kept thinking of as I pondered this project. In fact, her creative retelling prompted me to consider this project in the first place! Goldilocks is a curious girl, and her father warns her in the beginning

Read Post

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Roberto Piumini, illustrated by Valentina Salmaso (Storybook Classics). My son said of Piumini’s version, “It’s not a good story. Goldilocks did not say sorry.” But she doesn’t say “sorry” in many of the books, so I’m not sure why this one stood out as not a favorite for him. It’s true

Read Post

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Gennady Spirin (Marshall Cavendish, 2009). Gennady Spirin’s story reminds me a lot of Jan Brett’s, in that his story seems to have a distinct voice, thanks to its distinct realistic illustrations. To be honest, I am not a fan of the dark illustrations in this one. The bears and the house

Read Post

The Three Bears by Byron Barton (Harper, 1991). Byron Barton’s illustrated story is as basic as it can be, yet I have always enjoyed Mr. Barton’s simple stories and illustrations for a young child. He seems to show that less is more, that patterns and simplicity seem to capture the reader in ways that detailed illustrations do

Read Post

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett (Puffin, 1996). Jan Brett’s strength is in her detailed illustrations. She is the master of detail. I love the depiction of Goldilocks; she looks like a girl from a photograph given the painstaking detail. I also particularly like the details on the three different bowls of porridge.

Read Post