GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS

Name: GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS
Author: Gerda Muller
ISBN: 978-0-86315-795-0

by Gerda Muller & illustrated by Gerda Muller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2011

The artwork, a cross between Paul Galdone’s version (1985) and Emma Chichester Clark’s (2010), makes this a charming version...

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Another "Goldilocks"? Yes, with a fresh take, unusual setting and appealing illustrations.

Goldilocks’ parents work in a circus. One evening, the caravan stops at the edge of a big forest. A path leads the girl into the woods, where she picks a bouquet of pretty flowers, but then she can’t find the path to go back. In tears, she finds herself in a clearing where there’s a funny house. She goes in, but no one is home. She tries the usual threesomes of chairs, porridge and beds. The bears return home to find her asleep in Baby Bear’s bed. Startled, she grabs her shoes and runs outside. Daddy Bear shouts after her, “Don’t you know to knock first if a door is closed?” Goldilocks finds the path to the caravan and from then on “always remembered to knock first.” The engaging illustrations of Goldilocks in her vivid red sweater and polka-dot skirt are painted on ecru paper, adding a woodsy flavor. Textured details such as the wooden, bear-shaped chairs, umbrellas with carved bear heads, bee patterns on the bedspreads and three-little-pig piggy banks enhance the whimsy. Even the white splotch under Mama Bear’s chin suggests a fuzzy necklace.

The artwork, a cross between Paul Galdone’s version (1985) and Emma Chichester Clark’s (2010), makes this a charming version you can’t bear to be without. (Picture book/fairy tale. 3-7)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-86315-795-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Floris

Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE
by Gerda Muller ; illustrated by Gerda Muller ; translated by Polly Lawson

- BOOK REVIEW
A YEAR AROUND THE GREAT OAK
by Gerda Muller ; illustrated by Gerda Muller

- BOOK REVIEW
A YEAR AROUND THE GREAT OAK
by Gerda Muller ; illustrated by Gerda Muller

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THE NIGHT IS YOURS

by Abdul-Razak Zachariah ; illustrated by Keturah A. Bobo ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2019

Vital messages of self-love for darker-skinned children.

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On hot summer nights, Amani’s parents permit her to go outside and play in the apartment courtyard, where the breeze is cool and her friends are waiting.

The children jump rope to the sounds of music as it floats through a neighbor’s window, gaze at stars in the night sky, and play hide-and-seek in the moonlight. It is in the moonlight that Amani and her friends are themselves found by the moon, and it illumines the many shades of their skin, which vary from light tan to deep brown. In a world where darkness often evokes ideas of evil or fear, this book is a celebration of things that are dark and beautiful—like a child’s dark skin and the night in which she plays. The lines “Show everyone else how to embrace the night like you. Teach them how to be a night-owning girl like you” are as much an appeal for her to love and appreciate her dark skin as they are the exhortation for Amani to enjoy the night. There is a sense of security that flows throughout this book. The courtyard is safe and homelike. The moon, like an additional parent, seems to be watching the children from the sky. The charming full-bleed illustrations, done in washes of mostly deep blues and greens, make this a wonderful bedtime story.

Vital messages of self-love for darker-skinned children. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: July 2, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-525-55271-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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PILLOWLAND

by Laurie Berkner ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2017

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands.

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Berkner’s children’s song gets the picture-book treatment with illustrations from Garoche.

What kid hasn’t made a massive pillow fort and imagined all sorts of adventures? Well, Berkner’s premise is that there is a land where everything is made of pillows, and three lucky children get to visit there. (They appear to be siblings, perhaps a blended family: Mom and one girl are black; Dad, one boy, and one girl are white.) The illustrations transition between depictions of obvious imaginative play in a bedroom to a fantasy world and back again at the end, when the parents peek in at the three asleep. Garoche’s art consists of photos of papercut artwork arranged in dioramas with some Photoshop details. Reminiscent of Michael Garland’s work (though more pastel in color) or that of Elly McKay (though less ethereal), the illustrations are a mixed bag, with layers and hard edges juxtaposed against all the pillows. The king and queen of the song are obviously stand-ins for the parents. Children who know the tune may not sit still for a reading, while those who don’t may wonder at the repeated refrain.

For Berkner’s fans; there are much better books about children visiting imaginative lands. (Picture book. 3-7)