Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs: As Retold by Mo Willems

PreS-Gr 3—This zany addition to the fractured-fairy-tale canon features a yellow-haired Goldilocks in a pink dress and three dinosaurs-Papa, Mama, and "some other Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway." Arising one morning, the dinosaurs cook their chocolate pudding "at varying temperatures" and intentionally leave the pudding bowls out to lure "a little succulent child" into their home. Goldilocks, being a heedless little girl who "never listened to warnings about the dangers of barging into strange, enormous houses," does just that and proceeds to stuff herself with the dinosaurs' bait-er, chocolate pudding. Tired and sleepy, she finds the bedroom but-uh, oh!-overhears the dinosaurs outside gloating, "Delicious chocolate-filled-little-girl-bonbons are yummier when they're asleep!" Suddenly realizing that she's in the wrong story, Goldilocks beats a hasty retreat just as the three dinosaurs return licking their lips-and happily finds her way into the right story with the three bears on the last page. This is pure Mo Willems, from the many visual gags in the cleanly drawn illustrations and the tight, tongue-in-cheek story line to the endpapers, decorated with dozens of hilarious crossed-out title possibilities. The book's generous trim size, varied illustrative perspectives, and dramatic text lend this title perfectly to a lively group read-aloud; pair it with a traditional version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to discuss differences and similarities. Readers of all ages will find much to chuckle about in this wacky retelling.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT