Goldilocks by Ruth Sanderson

This is a beautifully illustrated book and if you are looking for an interesting variation of the Goldilocks story, I most heartily recommend it.

Now purists, like Don, are going to get their hackles up that this version doesn't stick with the tradition story, but I think that there's room for new interpretations as well as the old ones, particularly when they are so well done. In this story, Goldilocks is picking blue berries when she happens across the bears cottage. All the usual actions follow. She tries the porridges. She tries the chairs and then the beds. The difference comes in that the bears are very civilized -- they remind me of the bear family that Maurice Sendak drew for Elsa Holmelund Minarik's "Little Bear" series -- and Goldie's punishment is not being scared to death, but being asked to make-up the beds she messed up. They then go on to make a new breakfast, this time with muffins made with the blueberries that Goldilocks picked.

Though hardly traditional, it's a nice lesson that people should expect to try to rectify their messes.

Talking Points :::

• Gorgeous illustrations. The color is lush and detailed.
• The bears are civilized and Goldilocks ends up making friends with them.
• There's a recipe for blueberry muffins that's included.
• Would make a nice gift for a young child interested in this story.

Pam
Somewhere in the X-burbs

Goldilocks
Accelerated Reading level : 3.6

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 1, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 0316778850