Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Retold and Illustrated by Jan Brett

Published by Dover Publications, Inc., New York 1987

Genre: Traditional Literature/Folktale/Mythology

32 pages

 

The cover of this little storybook captured my attention. First of all, I adore Jan Brett so I knew that it was going to be a good read with lovely illustrations. I am just in love with the illustrations in the story. Those borders and attention to detail sweep me away every time! In case you don't know the old folktale, the story is about a sweet little blond girl who turns out to be very rude as she barges into the home of the three bears and makes herself comfortable! I won't tell you how it ends, but it is a cute story that teaches a good lesson on morality.

The illustrations are just stunning, wouldn't you agree? I love the details. I like going through the book and trying to find all of the little hidden things (like the little mice under the bed.) Jan Brett actually uses watercolors to illustrate, even though that surprised me. The illustrations in this story basically are what is telling the story. There is text of course, but the story would be perfectly understandable to a child who could not yet read. The pictures really bring to life the feel of the tale.

This book is appropriate for children in Pre-K to first grade. Although, I am an adult and I still enjoy it! You could use this as a character study by asking the child, "How do you think it felt when the bears discovered that someone had used their things? How do you feel when someone uses your things?" You could use a Venn diagram to compare the difference between Goldilocks and the Three Bears to The Three Snow Bears (also written by Jan Brett and a similar story.) You could also do a sorting activity with things that are small, medium, and large. 

Check out this blog post! ----->   http://onceuponadayinpreschool.blogspot.com/2011/01/goldilocks-and-three-bears.html