Professor Goose Debunks Goldilocks and the Three Bears

K-Gr 3–In this humorous take on “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” the know-it-all Professor Marie Curious Goose, great-grandniece of Mother Goose, adopts a professorial tone to retell the story with a lot of scientific tidbits and segues. With full-page artwork throughout, the story begins with Professor Goose, with a bit of punk rock pink hair, telling readers that she will fact check Mother Goose’s work with science. She humorously narrates, pauses for sidebars, and is aided by a Black girl and a pale boy with yellow hair, explaining scientific concepts, such as thermodynamics and hibernation. Professor Goose has a light bulb moment (both in artwork and in speech) in relating Baby Bear’s discovery of the Goldilocks intrusion, stating “FABULOUS! Baby Bear might be a budding scientist. I think she is about to use the Scientific Method to solve the mystery.” The pen-and-ink artwork anthropomorphizes the animals into large-eyed cartoon characters who are a joyful match for the playful energy of Professor Goose. At the end of the book is a STEM craft that is very apropos of the DIY maker movement, as well as instructions on how to engineer a cardboard chair for a bear.