Goldilocks, Go Home!

In this highly entertaining send-up of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” by Freeman (Effie Starr Zook Has One More Question), an independent Goldilocks, who has left home after a fight with a “peasant woman” (her mom), is invited by the bear family to stick around until the new moon, when it’s safe to walk in the woods. (That’s when the wolf stays home eating Chinese food instead of little girls.) Goldilocks has a mission: she’s decided that she’s a princess who must reunite with real parents in a castle deep in the forest, and despite dire warnings from the bears, she’s determined to find them. “Bobby” Bear (he’s not going by “Baby” in front of Goldilocks) is not happy about the family’s human houseguest, so when the new moon arrives, he offers to accompany Goldilocks in order to get rid of her. Chapter narration switches between Goldilocks and Bobby, with each butting into the other’s chapter via debut illustrator Sevilla’s lively cartoons and amusing commentary. Clever references to other fairy tales and modern twists, as when Goldilocks inspires Mama Bear to get Papa and Bobby to do more housework, further enhance this delightful romp. Ages 7–10. [em](June) [/em]