Goldilocks and the Three Knocks

PreS-Gr 3–For a book that wants to be the spiritual successor to Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!, this hot take on the three bears moves narration duties to Goldilocks, who takes the reins to tell how the bears interrupted her peace first, upending her home and hibernating for the winter. It has cartoon-style illustrations, tidily leading the story into summer, when Goldie goes to visit the bears, which readers now understand will be something like payback time. There are inside jokes about fairy tales, with a scene of a wise baby bear presenting a laundry list of “too hot” items as a high point. There are winky nods to familiar characters hidden in the pictures: look closely to see a box of Miss Muffet’s curds and whey or Little Red Riding Hood’s cloak on the coat stand. Still, despite the clever illustrations, this story feels slight and unfinished; just as the plot takes off and the bears take over, they fall asleep—for the winter.