The 3 Bears and Goldilocks

I hope you do, anyway :) What distinguishes this Goldilocks story from most others is that the bears are shown living, well, like bears! Their beautiful house is covered with fish scales and debris (Goldilocks "helpfully" sweeps it up), their delicious oatmeal is filled with bugs and grubs (Goldilocks "kindly" picks it out... before eating Baby's all up, of course), their kingly and queenly beds are made of sticks and dirt. And when they finally find the little girl, what they feel is more pity than anything - no claws, no fur, no teeth! Funnily, Goldilocks still doesn't really grasp the moral of the story, taking it only as "Don't visit bears!!!" instead of "Sheesh, think before you act for a change", which it was supposed to be.

I bought this book because I have a soft spot for artist Heather Solomon, who illustrated my first children's book. And the art IS wonderful. Solomon's signature mixed-media style lends itself particularly well to things like bear fur and tree bark, key ingredients in The Three Bears and Goldilocks. What's more, this retelling manages to shed new light on a well-known story without stretching to twist the plot. Margaret Willey's Goldilocks is curious, but also helpful. So when she finds a cabin in the woods, she decides she'll tidy up just a bit. Here's where the writer and illustrator have a lot of fun: The bears' home is no cozy half-timbered New England cottage; instead it has the kinds of porridge and beds you might expect from characters who happen to be ursine. Which means that when Goldilocks cleans, she is actually making a real mess by bear standards. I won't give away any more of Willey and Solomon's clever touches, but I will tell you the last page has a wonderful wry humor that caps the book off perfectly. Oh, and be sure to take a look at Mama Bear's "hair bows"!