The Three Snow Bears

Jan Brett transplants the classic English fairy-tale about Goldilocks and the Three Bears to the arctic in this beautifully-illustrated picture-book, depicting an Inuit girl named Aloo-ki and her adventures exploring the igloo belonging to an absent snow bear family. As Aloo-ki tries the food, boots and beds belonging to the three ursine residents of the igloo, said bears are off swimming, and rescuing her stranded sled dogs...

Brett seems to have a real fascination with this story, having created a traditional picture-book retelling of it, as well as the recent under-sea Okinawan version, The Mermaid. Although I found the illustrations here gorgeous - as always with this artist's work, they were colorful and ornate, with beautiful side show more panels that revealed more of the story than could be found in text alone - I honestly can't say I found the tale itself all that appealing. Leaving aside the common objection - namely, that the heroine is a bit unprincipled in her behavior - I sometimes wonder with these fairy-tale transplants, why the cultural setting needs to be changed at all. Surely folklore is one field that is already culturally diverse? I think I would have preferred a retelling of an actual Inuit tale, rather than a transformed Inuit version of an English one. Of course, Inuit-owned publisher Inhabit Media (whose catalogue I can't recommend highly enough!) seems to be doing an excellent job in that direction. As for this, it is one I would recommend primarily to those who are fans of Jan Brett's artwork. show less

I liked this book for three great reasons. First, this book is beautifully illustrated. On each page’s border, there is a frame for what the other characters are doing while the author focuses our attention somewhere else. This book also has a common plot, similarly to “Goldilocks and the three bears.” For children, they are able to make connections between the illustrations on the pages to the characters on the side. This is a great book for teaching about inferences and predicting what you think will happen next. I also liked this book for its use of writing. This book engages the readers from the start. There is a sense of wonder to what will happen when, Aloo-ki gets separated from her dogs. Young children are able to connect show more and enjoy this book because of Bretts detail in each illustration. The animals are given fur coats, beds, a kitchen and home creating a sense of “anthropomorphism.” Children will be able to relate to the points of view for not only the young girl but also the animals included in the storyline. This is a wonderful book for a morning snow day! show less

I love reworked fairytales, but Jan Brett's rendition of Goldilocks and the three bears is slightly problematic: polar bears routinely eat sled dogs and people. But the story and illustrations were charming anyways.

The illustrations in this book, like all of Brett's work, are superb. Kids enjoy examining the panels on each side of the main illustration to figure out action happening in other parts of the story. But I found it jarring that the little girl character makes no apology for her behavior, considering she steals Baby Bear's boots! I know the original Goldilocks is unrepentant, but Jan Brett makes a point of showing the bear family rescuing the little girl's team of sled dogs. It seems more than a little ungrateful to repay the bears by stealing their boots, and then weaving a cheery goodbye at the end. My students said, "Hey! She still got the Baby's boots!"

3.5 stars

This is an Inuit retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but in this case, it’s a little Inuit girl, Aloo-ki, who is looking for her dogs who floated away on a piece of ice and she stumbles upon the igloo where three snow bears live. She goes inside to investigate, while the bears are out.

3 stars for the story, 4 stars for the artwork. It’s a cute story, but one that’s been told. But, the pictures in the book are amazing. The Inuit setting is a nice change and it makes for beautiful pictures. It reminded me of some graphic novels where there is a border. The pictures in the border were following the dogs and the bears, while the main story with text followed Aloo-ki. I read my first picture book by this author last show more year and I am reminded of the wonderful pictures with her stories. show less

In my opinion, The Three Snow Bears is a great book for several reasons. First, the story is a creative spin-off of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Jan Brett took a piece of traditional literature and created a similar story, but one which revolved around Eskimo and Inuit life. Besides a great multicultural piece, this book could also be used when comparing and contrasting to the original tale. I liked the characters because they were believable. Little Aloo-ki was curious enough to enter a bear’s igloo to try out their food, shoes, and beds. Just like Goldilocks, Aloo-ki entered the home and continued to try out their belongings until she found just the right one. For example, “She tipped up the littlest bowl and drank every drop. show more ‘Mmmm!’ she said. ‘Not too hot and not too cold.” Disappointingly, the ending of the story was quite sudden. The bears return home with Aloo-ki’s missing sled dogs, and Aloo-ki runs free! I wish there could have been a better ending, where the bears and Aloo-ki became friends. The ending leaves the reader waiting for more, but overall the book is good. The big idea of the story is to teach students about Eskimo and Inuit lifestyle, along with presenting a familiar tale in a new way. show less

Summary: A retelling of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears that takes place in an arctic setting with an Inuit girl named Aloo-ki. The girl is looking for her sled dogs, and while searching she finds a big igloo and enters. She finds three bowls of soup, three pairs of boots and three benches and discovers the smallest is just right for her and eats the soup, puts on the shoes and lies down for a nap. The snow bear family rescues Aloo-ki’s sled dogs on their walk and returns home to a surprise in their home. Aloo-ki wakes up to the bears runs out the igloo to find her dogs waiting outside and off she goes waving thank you to the bears.

Personal Response: This is a wonderful story that has the same storyline as Goldilocks and the Three show more Bears. In this particular story, Jan Brett creates characters in an arctic setting, which makes a popular story most people know, that much more interesting. I also really enjoyed seeing a very different human character in this story as she makes an Inuit girl to be the main character in the book. It allows the readers to predict the next thing that happens and the book utilizes beautiful illustrations on and around the page like the other books she writes. The main illustration and the illustrations on the border show two scenes at once, allowing the reader to make predictions, and utilize their imagination.

Curriculum Connection:
This story can be used in PreK-1st grade Language Arts class to compare and contrast two stories, through using the book Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It is also a wonderful book to decipher the beginning, middle, and end and utilize to retell and act out the story with young students. It can also be used to connect to geography and social studies activities through making a connection to the Arctic lifestyle and learning about Arctic continents and countries. show less