Scan barcode
csd17's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the adventure in the illustrations. Such a fun book.
hullabaloo's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this, but found myself pretty annoyed by the sexist division of duties aboard the pirate ship (namely that Mama pirate does them all - and is described as doing the domestic duties poorly). Papa Pirate and Baby Pirate do nothing. The only thing keeping me from giving this 1 star is I like Goldenlocks - she is a problem solver and a fixer - not the breaking-and-entering, food-stealing, chair-breaker she is in the original fairytale.
xanthe's review
2.0
I don’t usually write reviews for the picture books that I read, mostly because as much as I might have a strong reaction to them, I’m definitely not the target audience. My kids often have very different reactions to books than I do. However, I’m really annoyed by this one so here goes. I picked up Goldenlocks and the Three Pirates from the library “new” shelf because it looks fun and bright, a tempting retelling with a twist! I was hoping for something along the lines of one of our family favorites such as Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke or even the perennial classic Pirates Don’t Change Diapers, but instead I got a retelling that reinforces rigid gender stereotypes, minus any actual swashbuckling. * Spoilers ahoy!* Of the three titular pirates, the middle-sized pirate is the mother, who is ashamed of her terrible cooking and mending abilities, and who suggests to the really big pirate (a dude) that they get a crew to help out with these chores. She's not suggesting that big or little pirate (dudes) try their hands at these tasks, of course! Enter Goldenlocks (lovely girl with well, golden locks) who rows out to the three pirates' temporarily unoccupied ship because she’s curious. She seasons the terrible porridge, fixes the broken stool, rehangs the limp hammock, earning her an offer to join the crew when she is discovered. Hurray! A replacement female to take care of those fearsome pirates! Thank goodness. And just to add to the annoyance, Mom pirate is shown in the last picture, reading a cookbook with a frown on her face. Still trying to succeed at being feminine! Gosh, I hated that. So, let’s sum up: no swashbuckling, every female character’s worth is rated by how well she can accomplish traditionally feminine chores, with absolutely no suggestion that perhaps they might be essential enough to be shared by the Big Pirate (male) and the Little Pirate (also male.) Ugh. This book does have lovely, vibrant artwork, which is why I picked it up in the first place, but alas! This isn’t something I will be sharing with my kids because I don’t want to reinforce these kinds of stereotypes. A book that looks fun and hip (pirates!) does way more damage in normalizing these than another that isn’t as appealing.
More...