From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-The creators of The Gingerbread Man (1998) and Aunt Pitty Patty's Piggy (1999, both Scholastic) have produced another excellent rendition of a favorite folktale. Like their earlier titles, Goldilocks has a 19th-century look and feel throughout, yet keeps the tale accessible to today's children. Aylesworth's text is faithful to the traditional elements of the original, juicing up the plot with folksy, conversational asides. Goldilocks, not the bear family, is the focus of this retelling, and both author and illustrator imbue her with plenty of spunky charm. Children will identify readily with this protagonist, who is not so much willfully naughty as she is "very, very good, except that sometimes she forgot to do things that her mother told her to do. Yes she did." Indeed, the old-fashioned language, combined with McClintock's flouncy, hair-ribboned envisioning of the girl, evokes another intrepid literary adventurer: Alice in Wonderland. The artist's watercolor, sepia ink, and gouache illustrations are pastel and dainty yet full of life and action, thanks to the hilariously exaggerated expressions the child makes while testing porridge, chairs, and beds. This is a handsomely designed book, with heavy ivory pages, delicate frame borders, and an Edwardian typeface that changes in size to serve the story. A recipe for "Mama Bear's Porridge Cookies" will help children make the porridge-is-oatmeal connection. At once antique and immediate, this Goldilocks will sassily invite herself onto library shelves everywhere.
Eve Ortega, Cypress Library, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Reviewed with Diane Stanley's
Goldie and the Three Bears.
PreS-Gr. 1. Is there room for two more versions of Goldilocks? Yes, if it's space for these two. Although as different from each other as peas and pies, both are delightful and will attract their own audience, with some children preferring the traditional story and others gravitating to the fresh and funny version. Although Aylesworth follows the standard telling, he adds decorative touches in the text. McClintock's art is also traditional. Executed in watercolor, sepia ink, and gouache, her pictures have a nodding acquaintance with Tenniel's artwork for Alice, but the Victorian sensibility is interrupted here and there with some humorous details, particularly the expressions on Goldilock's face. Stanley's Goldie is a modern-day kid. She has definite likes and dislikes about food, clothes, and even friends: Jenny is too boring; Alicia is too snobby. One day, Goldie gets off the school bus at the wrong stop and wanders into a strange house. Children may think they know the rest, but in the end, the little bear girl turns out to be just the friend Goldie has been looking for. Stanley's art, so sophisticated in her biographies, is delightfully childlike here, with lots of fun in every scene. Ilene Cooper
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