Versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears

If you’d like a new perspective on the traditional story, this is a good one to check out. When Goldilocks finds the bears’ home, there’s no tidy cottage. Instead, the bears live in a dirty cabin (with leaves and fish bones on the floor), eat porridge filled with beetles and bark, and sleep in beds made of leaves, pine needles, and bird feathers. While the story didn’t especially grab us, it’s a fun new take. The illustrations are great, too.

In this modern version, the Three Bears are looking for a lead singer for their rock band. They audition everyone (including the three little pigs and Little Red Riding Hood), but no one has the right pitch. Meanwhile, Goldilocks discovers their empty house. She breaks the microphone, finds the perfect headset, and falls asleep (drooling) on the keyboard. When the bears discover her, she lets out a scream (a perfect high C!) and becomes the new lead singer. I loved it; my Four wasn’t impressed.

I like this twist on the familiar story, as the three bears live in an Igloo, and it’s an Inuit girl named Aloo-ki who discovers their home. Brett’s books can be a bit too text-heavy, but this one is just right (get it? ha ha).

Goldilocks is all grown up, regrets what she did as a girl, and has created a business selling locks and keys. She returns to the Bears’ house, anxious to make amends – but it turns out she hasn’t learned her lesson after all. Without the Bears’ permission, Goldilocks adds multiple padlocks to their door, replaces the porridge with “better” food (rutabaga bars and celery juice) and adds her own decorative touch. Silly Goldilocks!

This is a fun, highly recommended variation. The southwest tale is about a girl who’s so dirty and unkempt that she’s called Dusty Locks. The best part is the hilarious dialogue ..  “Ya-hoo! I’m so hungry I could eat a saddle blanket.”
“She had no more manners than a pig in a peach orchard.”
“Papa Bear was madder than a half-squashed hornet.”
And when the bears find the dirty Dusty Locks in Baby Bear’s bed … “Land sakes! Smells pretty whiffy in here.”
Fun to read aloud, and fun to listen to!

This is a completely new and modern take which tells two stories at the same time. The bear family is out for a walk in the city, and a little girl gets lost while on an errand with her mother. This book is great for teaching students to make predictions and inferences, but the pictures can be hard to see if you’re reading to a large group.

This is another fun book from the creator of the Pigeon series and the Elephant and Piggy books. Not only do kids love this one, but you’ll appreciate all the little jokes thrown in. When the dinosaurs set a trap of three giant bowls of chocolate pudding, “a poorly supervised little girl named Goldilocks came along.” Goldilocks is clueless that she has just fallen into a trap until she hears the dinosaurs talking about their catch. “Goldilocks took a minute to stop and think, which was longer than she was used to stopping and thinking.” Funny!