Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Putting a modern, humorous spin on a well-known tale of misbehavior, James Marshall brings new energy to the story of Goldilocks. Although devoid of the moral asides of the original tale, Marshall makes it clear to the audience that they should not follow Goldilock's example. He definitively explains, "Goldilocks was one of those naughty girls who do exactly as they please." Implicitly, his in-depth illustrations expand this characterization. With a smirk of mischief on her face, Goldilocks romps through the bears' house ill-mannerly licking a bowl and putting her feet on a chair. The detailed, colorful illustrations allow readers to step into the bears' home almost as intrusively as Goldilocks has. The reader can see that a postcard show more from Santa Cruz rests on the mantel and that Papa Bear wears bunny slippers, contributing to this modern version of the story. Upon returning to their invaded home, the bears each respond to Goldilocks' intrusion. "'Somebody has been sitting in my chair!' said Papa Bear. 'Somebody has been sitting in my chair!' said Mama Bear. 'Somebody has been sitting in my chair' said Baby Bear." This use of repetition, common to most versions of the tale, is appealing to listening ears and a welcome sight to struggling readers. In Marshall's adaptation, Baby Bear adds that his chair has been "broken to smithereens". This exemplifies the humorous touches that make the language vivid and fresh for readers (and listeners) of all ages. show less

I included this as a variation on the classic story because the author portrays Goldilocks as a specifically naughty girl, rather than the thoughtless or overly curious girl that is more typical for the story. The first bit of text says, “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.” The accompanying illustration shows Goldilocks jumping off a swing and into a pool of water, beside which a group of cats are sleeping; her facial expression shows that she knows the cats are there, and she knows exactly what effect her splash-landing will have on them. Text on the next page has Goldilocks making a promise, and then the sentence “But show more to tell the truth Goldilocks was one of those naughty little girls who do exactly as they please. All this paints a very unpleasant picture of Goldilocks (which isn’t helped by the subsequent storyline) that is absent from the classic telling of the story. show less

James Marshall’s retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a quirky, clever twist on the traditional Goldilocks story. In Marshall’s version, Goldilocks is “one of those naughty little girls who do exactly as they please,” and who disobeys her mother by taking a shortcut through the woods when sent to buy muffins in the next village over. As we are introduced to the bears, they are fully clothed in sophisticated apparel, sitting in their “charming house;” when the three bears go out for a spin on their “rusty old bicycle,” Goldilocks breaks into the house and begins to wreak havoc. When the bears return, they are upset and prepare to give Goldilocks a stern lecture, but she disappears and is never seen by the bears show more again.

Marshall’s book, in addition to shifting the perspective of the Goldilocks tale, cleverly plays with the reader’s expectations of the story. The bears are portrayed as very respectable, even-tempered characters, while Goldilocks (the traditional protagonist) is depicted as a mischievous brat. Marshall’s cartoonish illustrations are incredibly amusing, and it is no wonder that this book received a Caldecott Honor award.

Citation:
Marshall, James. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. New York: Dial for Young Readers, 1988. Print. show less

James Marshall introduces us to Goldilocks, a rambunctious, sneaky, rule-breaker. Her mom tells her to stay away from the Shortcut woods, so of course Goldilocks enters the forest. She comes upon the beautiful, peaceful bear house, and shamelessly wreaks havoc. The bears come home and find her, so she jumps out their window-- never to be seen again. Goldilocks, the villain! A great way to show kids a new perspective on a classic story.

This is a simple and fun re-telling of the classic tale. I enjoyed the book. The main theme of the book is that people need to respect boundaries.

James Marshall has Goldilocks portrayed as a naughty girl. While this is not as typical, it is a good depiction. For example she disobeys her parents and goes in the woods after being told not to. By not listening to her parents, she befalls a string of poor choices when entering the house. She skampers through the woods, all of which includes fun boisterous language. This choice in language makes the story different enough.

I also liked the illustrations. For example, most the pictures are simple drawings with basic colors. The simple illustrations takes less focus away from the text. These show more drawings also help depict the story. It is great to see the antics she manages, like breaking the chairs. An enjoyable book. show less

This is a classic telling of the story of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I hadn't read this version and was pleasantly surprised that even though the story was the same the illustrations were amazingly detailed.

The setting of the story is the bear cottage however, it's more than just bowls of porridge, chairs and beds. The illustrations give you an idea of who the bear family is. Papa bear wears bunny slippers as they lay tucked under his bed, baby bears room is decked out with posters and pennants and a picture of Texas and the bear family must love books as they own many of them. There were also humorous details such as Goldilocks finding fur on the ground and commenting that the homeowners must have kitties yet she doesn't show more notice the the pictures of the bear family on the wall behind her or that Goldilocks sits with feet propped up on a chair as she gobbles up baby bears porridge! I will be happy to add this book to my collection of Goldilocks and the Three Bear stories! show less

As much as people may hate me for saying this, I don’t find anything too special about Goldilocks And The Three Bears, and for that reason I do not think it is the greatest children’s book, but then again I don’t think it’s the worst. The main reason why I think this has potential to be a good book is because of the suspense that it leaves the reader. Having suspense in a story engages the reader and makes them want to read more to find out what is going to happen. With the story of Goldilocks, you get a thrill when she trespasses into a house and starts to eat the food and then sit on the couch, etc., and are waiting to see what will happen next or who will come home. On the other hand, I believe that having a book about a show more little girl wandering off by herself in a forest and walking into a strangers house that has the door cracked open is not such a great thing to be teaching young children. Nowadays I believe that children imitate or look up to the things that they read, and this is the last thing you want your child to do. On the first page of the book someone says “What a sweet child,” and then someone answers to that saying, “that’s what you think.” The big idea of this book to me is that Goldilocks realized she made a mistake by trespassing and when she wakes up to the 3 bears surrounding her, she gets up, runs away and is never seen near the house again. show less