Revisiting Old Favorites -- Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Rubia and the Three Osos
by Susan Middleton Elya
illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Disney*Hyperion Books, 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

This rhyming version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is sure to be a hit with children who speak Spanish, children who are learning Spanish, readers who love new versions of old stories, and fans of Melissa Sweet's illustrations. Well, I guess that means that this book will be a hit with EVERYONE!

First, a bit about the rhymes. Who can't love a poet who rhymes "prepared" with "derriere'd"?

There once were three osos

who lived by themselves.

They stored their three platos

for soup on the shelves.

But one night at supper

--la sopa prepared,

the soup platos ladled,

the chairs derriere'd --

Sometimes the Spanish words rhyme with Spanish words, sometimes Spanish and English rhyme, and sometimes English rhymes with English. Sometimes the Spanish words are explained in the context of the poem, and sometimes by clues in the picture, and every now and then the reader might need to go to the glossary of Spanish words in the back of the book to make sure of the meaning of a word. But all in all, the Spanish and English go together like the soup, the bowls, the chairs and the beds.

You can tell by the cover that there's something a little different about the way this story turns out. What's new in this version is that Rubia regrets the damage she did at the Osos' house. She makes up a pot of soup and takes it, and some glue, to the Osos', where she says, "Lo siento."

Three cheers for Rubia and the Three Osos!!!

Tomorrow, another new version of Goldilocks...