Goldibooks and the Wee Bear
Goldibooks and the Wee Bear
Once there was a girl who thought books were
as good as gold. Everyone called her Goldibooks.
Her parents loved books, too.
They each had their own special bookshelves....
And their own special reading chairs.
In this offering, Troy Wilson, the author of Little Red Reading Hood and the Misread Wolf, has brought readers a new version of the 19th-century British fairy tale Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Those youngsters who are familiar with the original story will recognize its core elements being repeated in Goldibooks and the Wee Bear, but, in this “inverted” retelling, instead of a little girl entering the residence of the three bears, it’s a little bear who makes his way into the home of a human family. And, though the young girl in Wilson’s recounting has blonde hair like Goldilocks, because of her love of books she has been nicknamed Goldibooks.
Whereas Goldilocks sought food for the body, Wee Bear is in search of food for the mind – books. When the human family heads to the library to exchange their borrowed books, Wee Bear peeks in their window and sees three bookcases, each belonging to one of the humans and each brimming with books. Upon entering, Wee Bear does the “Too hard, “Too soft”, “Just right” sequence with the family’s books, reading chairs and beds, with Goldibooks’ objects always being Wee Bear’s preferred items. A sleeping Wee Bear is discovered by the returning family, but, before the humans can react, Wee Bear’s parents suddenly appear and chastize him.
How many times have we told you?” growled Mama Bear. “Stay far away from wee humans.”
“Grown-up humans are dangerous if you get near their kids,” growled Papa Bear.
What makes the parents’ words humourous, rather than serious, is that they echo the warning that Goldibooks’ parents had delivered to her when she spied Wee Bear on the family’s walk to the library.
All ends well, however, when the adult bears spot all the books and Goldibooks invites the bear family to stay and read with them.
Taylor’s bright comic-style illustrations, a perfect fit for this lighthearted retelling of an old tale, are filled with lots of detail that can be explored on rereadings. Rounding out this fun read are endpapers featuring illustrations of books, books, books. Goldibooks and the Wee Bear would make a most worthy addition to libraries’ fractured fairy tale collections.
Dave Jenkinson, who is CM’s editor and lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, can sometimes become a bear if his leisure reading is unnecessarily interrupted.