New Versions of Old Favorites

I just came across two versions of old favorites. There are lots of these out there and I always wonder what attracts me to the ones I purchase. I have a large collection of picture books in my room and a whole shelf full of different versions of various "favorite stories".

OUT OF THE EGG by Tina Matthews is a new version of THE LITTLE RED HEN. As usual, the Little Red Hen does all of the work (this time planting a tree) and the Fat Cat, the Dirty Rat and the Greedy Pig have no interest in helping. But this Little Red Hen also lays an egg and a little red chick is born. The baby chick teaches his mother a good lesson about sharing. A great surprise ending makes this a great one!

GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS by Caralyn Buehner drew me in with the cover illustrations. The illustrator Mark Buehner, illustrated SNOWMEN AT NIGHT, a favorite at our house. The bear family on the cover looks so....friendly. You can tell it will be a great version of this story. The story is basically the same, but this Goldilocks is full of energy and rhyme. When she sees the 3 chairs, Goldilocks says, "Big chair, middle chair, little chair too, Somebody's here to bounce on you!" She proceeds to jump rope on each of the chairs. Goldilocks proceeds through the house with her jumprope. Her facial expressions are worth a closer look. I like this one because it stays true to the story but the author/illustrator team have given it a new energy.