Great Pictures, Solid Retelling, Great Message

books:


	• Goldilocks and the Three Bears Jan Brett Putnam Juvenile, 1996 - 32 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Pleasing Illustrations

Brett, Jan, retold and illustrated by. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 1987.
British Folktale Picture Book
The author uses its own unique style to tell a story that not only entertains, but provides children with insight into other's feelings. The words sometimes flow a little choppily. Some might find this distracting to their importance. Upon hearing the story, various types of expression by its recipients is possible. While the retelling is adequate, what this book mainly brings comes from its magnificent illustrations.
Amazing illustrations are characteristic of the author/illustrator. The illustrator is the author of the retelling. She is well known and keeps to her consistent theme as in her other stories, with "Hedgie" intricately hidden on the bedposts. The frames keep the story flowing from one scene to the next, allowing the reader to anticipate each page's turn. Every page gives the reader an eyeful. The pictures capture attention and want to be looked at again and again. Each look brings more discoveries of the illustrator's attention to detail.
The author/illustrator encourages cognitive stimulation. Young thinkers are positioned to breakaway from the mind's general imagination and look deeper into the interpretation. A youngster seeing the pictures and hearing the words is most likely considering his or her own self as an addition to each scene. Young children are able to make personnel connections to the story as it is analyzed and made meaningful.

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Great Pictures, Solid Retelling, Great Message

Variations on "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" have long entranced children. Whether it is Robert Southey's version from 1837, whether Goldilocks was simply an old woman, or the many modern varieties, the themes are the same: If it isn't yours, don't touch it.

"Goldilocks and the Three Bears," as told and drawn by Jan Brett, is a thrill to read. With big pictures, ready for a parent or teacher to show to younger ones, it is in typical Jan Brett detail. Doe-eyed Goldilocks does all the things we expect, as do the two parent bears and their son, the little, small, wee bear.

Bear motifs decorate the bears' kitchenware, providing a "Where's Waldo?" type of exercising and a smile for the child as he finds another bear hidden in the pictures.

Special care looks to be taken with drawing a realistic rendition of Goldilocks.

The retelling is good, though not magnificent. It will read without a hitch as far as meter is concerned. It is prose, but told in a fairy tale mode. The repetitions of describing the bears as they discover evidence of Goldilocks will be fun to say and hear aloud.

The bears are not as intimidating as they might be in real life. When the final confrontation comes, it is far less scary. The bears, in fact, with the little one in particular, are sympathetic as they watch Goldilocks sleep. She runs not because of provocation, but from the surprise of waking with three large animals watching. I would run too!

I fully recommend "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" drawn by Jan Brett.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

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Attention to Detail

This is a nice retelling of the familiar three bears story. The only thing I did not like about the wording is that she refers to the bears as "great, huge bear", "middle-sized bear", and "little, small, wee bear". I think that this would be a mouthful to read aloud, and personally I just like "momma bear", "papa bear", and "baby bear" better. However, the illustrations in this book make up for it because they are absolutely gorgeous. They are incredibly detailed, and include the borders and previews to the next pages that Jan Brett is known for. I really enjoyed looking at this book, and found something new in the artwork each time I did!

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amazing detail

The great appeal to this book are the illustrations that have so much detail that a young child could really sit with this book and find something new in each retelling. I agree with some of the previous reviewers that the limitations of this book are that the illustrations do not emphasize big, medium and small. This is a real shame, as this story has always been a great start to introduce the concept of size to young children.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

Everybody loves the story of the curious little girl named Goldilocks, who made herseld quite at home in the house of the three bears. Jan Brett's faithful retelling brings new life to this all-time favorite nursery tale. A Horn Book Recommended Paperback for Folklore, 1990. A Booklist Children's Editors' Choice. Full color.

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