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 even seem to notice that part of it was in a different language. It seems a nice way to introduce kids to Spanish. Also, the ending is a little different and fun: when Rubia returned home, she made a new pot of soup and took it, with some glue, to the bears’ house. In the end, papa says, “our house is su casa.” It’s a wonderful retelling with lighthearted illustrations. The dual language rhymes are a nice, unique touch.
