Goldilocks and Just One Bear

Cute, but readers may wonder how a bear who grew up in the cottage that Goldilocks visited could have not a "crumb-of-a-clue" about porridge, chairs and beds. 

Who doesn't love a reunion show? Hodgkinson (Limelight Larry) brings together a legendary couple—Baby Bear and Goldilocks—via a clever story that offers few clues as to what the author is up to. "Once upon a time, there was this bear," who wanders out of the woods and ends up in the heart of a noisy, bustling city. Disoriented, the bear stumbles into the penthouse apartment in Snooty Towers, where he finds just the right porridge, chair, and bed before falling asleep. The family is outraged, of course, until the "mommy person" and the bear realize who the other is. Hodgkinson's angular, naif drawing style has just the right amount of satirical nudge for depicting Goldilocks' ascension to the 1% (she's become a stylish blonde matron married to an equally stylish and blonde man with a Mr. Monopoly mustache). Hodgkinson's dry sense of humor is on full display—the first chair Baby Bear tries is "too ouchy," the second "too noisy" (they are, respectively, a cactus and a cat)—and should earn this "Where are they now?" fairy tale many re-reads.

In this clever spin-off, Baby Bear (now grown up) breaks into Goldilocks's family's condo in "Snooty Towers." As he searches for porridge, he ends up consuming water from a fishbowl and the cat's food. He also sits on a cactus and reclines in a bathtub before finding his way to a comfortable chair and bed. The triumph of this book is the brilliant moment in which Goldilocks and Baby Bear recognize each other and begin reminiscing about their previous encounter and Goldilocks apologizes for her previous behavior. The snappy, British-flavored language is perfectly paired with jazzy mixed-media illustrations in mustard yellow, teal, lime, and magenta. Hodgkinson assembles urban street scenes with whimsically asymmetrical buildings. Older children will enjoy reading humorous street and shop signs ("This Way," "No This Way Actually" and "Wolf's Clothing Boutique"). Librarians will find this book an excellent addition to fairy-tale units, especially since the narrative invites so much discussion. The story is rich with contrast: rural and urban, animal and human, child and adult. The humor will likely overpower the illogical aspects of the story, but some sharp children may still point out flaws. Why, for example, did the bear think a cactus was a chair if he had chairs in his own woodsy cottage? Why was Goldilocks's luxury apartment unlocked? Even in a fairy-tale world, stories need logic to suspend disbelief. Children may or may not notice these minor cracks in an otherwise sharp retelling.—Jess deCourcy Hinds, Bard High School Early College, Queens, NY