Anthony Browne has created a thoughtful retelling of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears fairytale that challenges the traditional reading. Using parallel storylines, Browne presents the Bear family, a comfortable middle class family, and Goldilocks, a young girl from a less affluent side of town.
Browne seems to want to have the reader consider another view of Goldilocks besides the unwelcome and rude little child as she is traditionally presented. Rather than an interloper, this Goldilocks appears to seek refuge in the invitingly safe Bear home. The story ends with Baby Bear’s concern, “I wonder what happened to her?”
The cover states that this is an “enchanting new take” but to me it is unsettling. It raises issues of “haves” and “have-nots” that may take some adult guidance to explain to younger children. The bear family strolls through the park in soft hues with smug expressions on their faces. Whereas Goldilocks becomes lost in a fairly colorless, brown-toned world of brick walls and concrete. There is a “happy” ending when Goldilocks is reunited with her mother.
Is Browne’s message behind this retelling that the middle class is losing the ability to be concerned about the well-being of those less fortunate? I do recommend this as an alternate telling; just be aware of potential questions.
Recommended by Katherine Stehman, Librarian, Pennsylvania, USA
