James Marshall

"With the same delightfully irreverent spirit that he brought to his retellings of Little Red Riding Hood, Marshall enlivens another favorite. . . . The illustrations are fraught with delicious humor and detail. Like its predecessor, perfect for several uses, from picture book hour to beginning reading."--Kirkus Reviews. Caldecott Honor Medal.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Laura Mauler

I included this as a variation on the classic story because the author portrays Goldilocks as a specifically naughty girl, rather than the thoughtless or overly curious girl that is more typical for the story. The first bit of text says, “Once there was a little girl called Goldilocks. ‘What a sweet child,’ said someone new in town. ‘That’s what you think,’ said a neighbor.” The accompanying illustration shows Goldilocks jumping off a swing and into a pool of water, beside which a group of cats are sleeping; her facial expression shows that she knows the cats are there, and she knows exactly what effect her splash-landing will have on them. Text on the next page has Goldilocks making a promise, and then the sentence “But to tell the truth Goldilocks was one of those naughty little girls who do exactly as they please. All this paints a very unpleasant picture of Goldilocks (which isn’t helped by the subsequent storyline) that is absent from the classic telling of the story.