When
I was young my sister and I learned a camp song that goes like this:
Once
upon a time in a
wee
little village
there
were three bears—cha, cha.
One
was a papa bear and
one
was a mama bear and
one
was a wee bear—cha, cha.
One
day they were walkin’
in
the deep woods a-talkin’
when
along, along,
along
came a little girl
with
golden curls
and
upon the door she knocked…
Timeless,
right? There are other fairy tales about thieves, but the only one that even
comes close to getting this much page time is Jack and the Beanstalk, and Jack
still can’t compete. So what’s the charm of this tale? Is it that inconsistent
porridge? The bears and their chairs? Or simply the idea of getting away with
something? Not to mention the repetition and cumulative effect of three trios
of bowls, chairs, and beds, or the suspense when the bears come home and go up
the stairs. I present to you some of the best renditions of this much-loved
story, including several revisionist versions.
Perfect for Preschoolers
The
Three Bears by Byron Barton
Barton’s
style—both in words and in pictures—is very, very simple. This gives it strong
appeal for 3- and 4-year-olds who might otherwise be confused. No surprise that
this one is also available as a board book.
Catch the Classics
The
Three Bears, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky (1948)
This
Little Golden Book is what many parents and grandparents grew up with.
Rojankovsky's illustrations easily stand the test of time. His Goldilocks looks like trouble, while
his bears manage to look sweet and wild-eyed at the same time. The artwork is
simple, surrounded by white backgrounds on most pages, but the strong textures
and curves of the lines of furniture, stove, and bears are striking.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears by Paul Galdone (1972)
The
late Paul Galdone and James Marshall are the dynamic duo of folktale illustration. In this book, Galdone’s text is particularly well done and
reader-friendly. For example, he incorporates his introduction of each bear
into the artwork, and he uses a different font size for each one: small,
medium, and large, of course. When he tells us “They each had a chair to sit in,”
there’s a wonderful illustration that shows the three bears sitting in a row on
rustic chairs made of tree limbs, each one reading a book.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears by James Marshall (1988)
James
Marshall is good. Very, very good. He starts off: “Once there was a little girl
called Goldilocks. ‘What a sweet child,’ said someone new in town. ‘That’s what
you think,’ said a neighbor.” Later we get Goldilocks exploring the house in
the wood and noticing “a lot of coarse brown fur everywhere. ‘They must have
kitties,’ she said.” The illustrations are just as funny. Note that this book
won a Caldecott Honor in 1989.
Illustration Den
Goldie
and the Three Bears by Diane Stanley
This
Goldie “knew exactly what she liked.” We see her sitting in a restaurant
holding a menu and saying, “I want plain pasta with just butter and no green
things, please.” In a wholly fresh choice, Stanley’s baby bear is a girl. The
porridge is sandwiches, the bears’ clothes look more 60’s than 1600’s, and a
sleeping Goldie “dreams” the bears’ return before waking up completely.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears by Jan Brett
You’re
probably familiar with this illustrator’s intricate style—often, as here, inspired
by Scandinavian culture. Brett is particularly well known for her borders. This is the traditional story, beautifully
illustrated. (Today’s factoid: Did you know Brett co-founded Reading Rainbow?)
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears by Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner
The
text is on the lengthy side and has a rhyming element that doesn’t quite work,
but the book is a nice enough retelling. I like how Goldilocks carries a jump
rope that makes it possible for her to wreak far more havoc.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears by Emma Chichester Clark
A
cheery British version which begins like this: “Once upon a time, there was a
family of bears: Mummy Bear, Daddy Bear, and Baby Bear. One morning, Mummy Bear
said, “Bother! This porridge is much too hot!” The story has more dialogue than
some of the others and the playful pastel illustrations are fresh—especially
when Goldie’s (long) hair stands on end in the final pages.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears by Gennady Spirin
Sometimes
it amazes me that this Russian illustrator’s lavish, Renaissance Russia-style
artwork succeeds in children’s books, but it does. The lushness of the bears’
costumes and furniture is set off by stark white backgrounds, and Spirin’s text
is nicely concise.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears, retold by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Barbara
McClintock
McClintock
gives Brett a run for her money when it comes to intricacy. And then there’s
this illustrator’s preferred nineteenth-century setting. We’re told Goldilocks “sometimes
forgot to do things that her mother told her to do,” and this point is raised
here and there as the story progresses, concluding as a moral. McClintock’s bears and their young
intruder have near-theatrical facial expressions. I especially like the spread
that shows the bears tiptoeing up the stairs with obvious trepidation—even big
Papa Bear looks anxious.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears by Valeri Gorbachev
Can
I just say I love this book? As our story begins, Father Bear is playing the
violin, Mother Bear is reading a book, and Baby Bear is sneaking cookies. These
illustrations are homey and appealing, and the text is simple and clear enough
to work just fine with the 3-to-5 crowd.
The
3 Bears and Goldilocks by Margaret Willey, illustrated by Heather M. Solomon
Willey
and Solomon do interesting things with the story, positing a bears’ house that
is closer to what real bears would have in the wild. Instead of being one of
those cottages you usually see, this is a rough, dome-shaped home with piles of
leaves inside and beetles and grubs in the porridge. Unfortunately for the
unsuspecting bears, Goldilocks is a dab hand at sweeping up.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears by Gerda Muller
European
retro is the look in this lovely version by Dutch illustrator Gerda Muller. Apparently
Goldilocks lives in a circus caravan and is curious about actual houses. All of
the backgrounds in the book are a light brown color, giving it a cozy feel. Many
different things in the book come in threes, each set having a big, medium, and
small size. Muller also color-codes the bowls, chairs, and beds. Yet these
touches do not distract from the story.
Revisionist Goldie
Dusty
Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell, illustrated by Randy Cecil
I
was a little dubious about this one, but turns out it’s a real hoedown of a
book. Young Dusty Locks is a dirty, cowboy boot-wearing child living “Once upon
a time, way out West” (think Pigpen from Peanuts). And here’s how Lowell
describes her bears: “One was a little bitty bear cub, just knee-high to a
bumblebee. One was a mild-mannered middle-size mama. And one was a great big
humpbacked grizzly, nine feet tall and cross as two sticks.” You’ll find beans
in the bowls instead of porridge.
Goldilocks
and Just One Bear by Leigh Hodgkinson
A
bear gets lost in the big city and takes refuge in Snooty Towers, where he
makes himself at home in a fancy apartment and proceeds to follow the Three
Bears script. Watch for the visual humor: as the bear tastes the three “bowls
of porridge,” we see that the first one is a fishbowl, the second is the food
in a dog dish, and the third is toast on a plate. The bear finds the porridge
soggy, crunchy, and dry for some reason. The chairs are even better, and wait
till you see who lives in this snazzy place.
Goldilocks
Returns by Lisa Campbell Ernst
Goldilocks
is all grown up and running a lock and home security shop in Ernst’s sequel.
Still feeling bad about the bears, Goldi decides to go back and make things
right—by installing new locks and redecorating a bit, for example. Still
clueless after all these years! There’s a nice twist at the end of the book.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears: A Tale Moderne by Steven Guarnaccia
The
author of The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale gives us modern design furniture
in this very hip tale. The house is a split-level and Daddy Bear looks like a beat poet.
This kind of book seems to be more for grown-ups than children, but how very
cool it is. The furniture in the illustrations is identified by designer on the
endpapers. I should mention that the storytelling is traditional; it’s the art
that gives it a twist.
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears and the 33 Bears and the Bliim and the Furniture OR The
Goldilocks Variations: Who’s Been Snopperink in My Woodootog? by Allan Ahlberg,
illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg
We’re
talking nutty, over-the-top British humor. This one’s for 5- to 7-year-olds
because it’s fairly complicated and wordy. Also funny, funny, funny. There are
seven versions of the story here, including one that’s a play, one in which the
furniture talks, and one with space aliens. The book also has moving parts.
(Note: This Goldilocks inspired today’s post.)
Goldilocks
and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
A
nice new spoof of the story. I especially like the way the dinosaurs are being
ever so sneaky. It could have used a better last line, I think, but this one’s still a keeper. See
my review here (scroll down).
Tackylocks
and the Three Bears by Helen Lester, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Tacky
the penguin is a unique character, weird and inclined not to get what’s going
on, but nevertheless likable. This is partly because he’s pleasant and
cheerful, but also because, unlike the rest of us, he’s utterly lacking in
self-consciousness and self-doubt. In this story he draws the Goldilocks role
out of the casting bowl, which is funny in and of itself. But goofy as Tacky
looks in his costume, I was more amused by the way his buddies look in their
bear hoods, which have ears on top, of course. A rowdy audience and Tacky’s
approach to playing the part—or snoozing, as the case may be—make this
deliberately ditzy book an icy delight.
The
Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett
Brett
told the story in traditional style in 1992, but she reimagined it with polar
bears in 2007. This time a little Inuit girl named Aloo-ki loses her sled dogs
and finds an igloo. All of the characters are arctic animals except Aloo-ki, all
dressed in heavy sweaters. You don’t often see an author tell the same story
again (Robin McKinley aside), but this version really is fresh and worthwhile.
I
could go on… Ruth Sanderson has a version, Jump at the Sun did an African-American
version illustrated by John Kurtz, and Lauren Child did a version with dolls.
There’s even one told in Signed English (Harry Bornstein) and a special needs
version in which Baby Bear “uses a wheelchair, goes to physical therapy, and
ultimately makes friends with Goldilocks” (Rolling Along with Goldilocks and
the Three Bears). If you look up the story title on Amazon, you will find 110
pages! I kid you not. There’s just something about the tale of a little blonde
housebreaker and three put-upon bears that calls out to storytellers—and to 4- to
6-year-olds, who will want to hear it over and over again.
So
how do you decide which one to read to your child? You can’t go wrong with
the classics—James Marshall’s and Paul Galdone’s books are both marvelous, though I
think Marshall’s bears may be less intimidating for very young readers.
My own new favorite for how the bears are depicted is Valeri
Gorbachev’s version. For comedy, look to Lowell’s regional retelling, Hodgkinson’s
high-rise rendering, Willems’ conniving crew of dinosaurs, James Marshall’s sly
take on the tale, and Helen Lester’s penguin theatrics. Of course, if you like complicated
British humor, Allan Ahlberg’s your guy.
Challenged
to pick just three of these books, I’d go with Marshall’s, Gorbachev’s, and
Ahlberg’s versions. But you have so many great choices!
Note: The illustration at the top of the post is by Emma Chichester Clark and the one at the bottom is by Gerda Muller.
Today
is a happy day. It’s the release date of Amy Ludwig Vanderwater’s first poetry
collection. If you haven’t heard of Amy, you should. I first “met” her in the
poetry blog community last April, when I followed her poems through National
Poetry Month, one for each letter of the alphabet and a few bonus poems. Amy
has a very friendly and poem-filled blog, The Poem Farm. She actually lives on
a farm in New York, where I suspect she takes walks
