Revisiting Old Favorites -- Goldilocks Again

Me and You
by Anthony Browne
Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2010 (originally published in 2009 in Great Britain)
review copy provided by the publisher

Did you ever wonder about Goldilocks' side of the story? In Anthony Browne's version, we get one possible answer to who she is and how she winds up in the three bears' house.

Goldilocks' story is told wordlessly, in sepia-colored panels on the left side of each double page spread. Her story looks modern -- a girl who goes out shopping with her mother, follows a balloon to try to catch it, and becomes lost.  Little Bear tells the story of his family going for a walk while they wait for their soup to cool. The Three Bears' story takes up the entire right-hand page of the spread, is in color, is drawn in a storybook style, and includes the text. When Goldilocks runs away from the Bears' house, she runs back through the modern, sepia-colored city scenes and is reunited with her mother. Little Bear is left at his window, wondering what becomes of the girl who had been asleep in his bed.

If you know Anthony Browne's work, you know this version isn't as simple as presenting us with two parallel stories. The cover holds a clue that the world of the Three Bears and Goldilocks' modern world might just be a little closer to one another than we might imagine. Go back to the illustrations of the bears taking their walk and think about what you see there.

Are we a part of the fairy tale story, or is the fairy tale a part of ours? As always, Anthony Browne makes us think and wonder.

I hope you've enjoyed this week of revisiting old favorites! I've certainly enjoyed sharing them with you!

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...

Revisiting Old Favorites -- Three Little Kittens

Three Little Kittens
by Jerry Pinkney
Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin), 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

It's autumn in Jerry Pinkney's version of the Three Little Kittens, and this mischievous trio can't wait to go outside and tumble in the leaves with their mousie toys, their ball of yarn, and the cardinal, blue jay and goldfinch who swoop outside their window.

True to form, they lose their mittens, find them again, eat pie with them on and dirty them, wash them clean and then ask to go outside and play again.

The delight of this traditional version is all in the details of the pictures. Anyone with cats will recognize how truly Pinkney has portrayed the way the kittens move, the things that catch their attention, even that wide-eyed wild look they get when they are engrossed in play.

There's lots to look at on every page, and be sure you don't miss the music and words to The Three Little Kittens printed on the inside of the book jacket.

This would be a fun story for children to read aloud and maybe even act out for Poetry Friday or readers' theater!

Tomorrow, a new version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears...

Revisiting Old Favorites -- The Red Hen

The Red Hen
by Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley
Roaring Brook Press (A Neal Porter Book), 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

This father/daughter team, who recently re-imagined Chicken Little, are back at it with The Red Hen.

The Red Hen is boldly-colored and wacky-eyed, like her unwilling helpers, the cat, the rat and the frog (who says, "Bribbit" instead of "Not I").

In this version, the Red Hen finds a recipe for a cake, gathers the ingredients, makes it, decorates it, and, you guessed it, eats it all by herself.  BUT...she also gives the reader her recipe at the end of the book. Hopefully, readers will be able to find an adult who will help them bake and decorate their cake!

A fun addition to any collection of folk and fairy tale variants!

Tomorrow, a new version of Three Little Kittens...

Revisiting Old Favorites -- The 3 Little Pigs

The 3 Little Dassies
by Jan Brett
G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin), 2010
review copy provided by the publisher

Jan Brett brings us a charming African version of The 3 Little Pigs set in Namibia. Dassies are critters that resemble a guinea pig-sized koala. They live in rocky areas with red-headed agama lizards nearby and black eagles overhead.

The style of this book is classic Jan Brett, with borders composed of a stunning variety of African prints and patterns, the illustrations filled with details of the plant and animal life of the region, the characters dressed in the traditional dress of the Herero women of Namibia, and foreshadowing found in decorated panels in the margins of each page.

Mimbi, Pimbi, and Timbi are the three dassie sisters who set off from the Namib Desert towards the mountains to make a new life now that they are all grown up. They meet Agama Man, a fancily-dressed redheaded lizard who watches over them as Mimbi weaves her home of grasses, Pimbi constructs her home of driftwood, and Timbi makes her home of mountain stones. The eagle in this version does not huff and puff, but she does grab Mimbi and Pimbi and take them to her nest to feed to her babies. Agama Man saves the two sisters, bringing them safely to Timbi's stone house.  When the eagle swoops down the chimney to grab Timbi, she lands in the fire and singes her feathers, which is why the eagles in that part of Africa are black to this very day.

Two thumbs up for this new version of The 3 Little Pigs!

Tomorrow, a new version of The Red Hen...

Revisiting Old Favorites

photo by GottShott, Flickr Creative Commons

I wound up with five different new versions of old favorite fairy tales in a pile on my kitchen table, so I'm going to be treating you to a week of "Revisiting Old Favorites" this coming week.

I'll start tomorrow by sharing a new take on the 3 Little Pigs...