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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh shit, I think I like this one book even more than all of Willems' Pigeon books combined! It's cheeky and delightful!
Why is Goldilocks and the Three Bears so popular a story to retell? Because it is a ridiculous story. Some girl barges into a stranger’s home while they are out for a walk, eats their food, breaks their stuff, and invades the most intimate recesses of their home and doesn’t show the least bit of qualms. Colonialist literature at its best. She could have been eaten. More often than not, however, the Bears would forgive her and they all become friends, because they aren’t the uncivilized creatures, she is. The dinosaurs are more devious than the Bears.
Willems retelling casts Goldilocks in the wrong story but as the same character and role, which is good for the three dinosaurs Papa, Mama, and some dinosaur from Sweden who are setting a trap for some “unsuspecting kid.” And “Sure enough, five minutes later a poorly supervised little girl name Goldilocks came traipsing along,” not noticing what we do: the dinosaurs peeking out of the forest, the sign that reads “.2 miles to trap very nice house,” and dinosaurs speaking. The [one’s yell] was immediately followed by another loud noise that sounded kind of like “Be Patient, Pap Dinosaur! The trap is not yet sprung!” But that could have been a rock falling. Or a squirrel.” You are not necessarily rooting for the dinosaurs who turn out to be more silly than scary (until the moral), but we are wondering how Goldilocks cannot seem to figure out that she is falling into a trap! Willems really builds the anticipation.
It would be wrong to mistake Willems as simplistic, on the contrary he makes many illustrations in children’s stories look like they try too hard. The heavy pencil lines are a nice edge as characters and objects are set against backdrops that with the color value it brings construction paper to mind. It has a quality to it that creates a palpable shift from water color or ink washes or strokes of acrylic. The accessibility of the illustrations adds to the co-conspiratorial aspect to the reading experience. In The Three Dinosaurs Willems does give us some details to enjoy: a pigeon in the cookie jar, the to-do list, a framed print that reads “We are Natural Gas,” the headset on the phone, the signs along the path and the welcome mats at the doors to name a few. And we do get to see the three bears looking especially cuddly and completely docile (e.g. safe).
I find it interesting that for all the silly type humor, it would seem Willems is trivializing a story with a significant moral, but he actually recovers it. He returns Goldilocks to the role of a cautionary tale. And he does it with dinosaurs!
L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/book-goldilocks-the-3-dinosaurs/
Willems retelling casts Goldilocks in the wrong story but as the same character and role, which is good for the three dinosaurs Papa, Mama, and some dinosaur from Sweden who are setting a trap for some “unsuspecting kid.” And “Sure enough, five minutes later a poorly supervised little girl name Goldilocks came traipsing along,” not noticing what we do: the dinosaurs peeking out of the forest, the sign that reads “.2 miles to trap very nice house,” and dinosaurs speaking. The [one’s yell] was immediately followed by another loud noise that sounded kind of like “Be Patient, Pap Dinosaur! The trap is not yet sprung!” But that could have been a rock falling. Or a squirrel.” You are not necessarily rooting for the dinosaurs who turn out to be more silly than scary (until the moral), but we are wondering how Goldilocks cannot seem to figure out that she is falling into a trap! Willems really builds the anticipation.
It would be wrong to mistake Willems as simplistic, on the contrary he makes many illustrations in children’s stories look like they try too hard. The heavy pencil lines are a nice edge as characters and objects are set against backdrops that with the color value it brings construction paper to mind. It has a quality to it that creates a palpable shift from water color or ink washes or strokes of acrylic. The accessibility of the illustrations adds to the co-conspiratorial aspect to the reading experience. In The Three Dinosaurs Willems does give us some details to enjoy: a pigeon in the cookie jar, the to-do list, a framed print that reads “We are Natural Gas,” the headset on the phone, the signs along the path and the welcome mats at the doors to name a few. And we do get to see the three bears looking especially cuddly and completely docile (e.g. safe).
I find it interesting that for all the silly type humor, it would seem Willems is trivializing a story with a significant moral, but he actually recovers it. He returns Goldilocks to the role of a cautionary tale. And he does it with dinosaurs!
L (omphaloskepsis)
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/book-goldilocks-the-3-dinosaurs/
Mo Willems' new spin on the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears does not disappoint! I was so excited to receive my copy in the mail I read it right away, laughing all the way through it! When my 3rd & 4th Grader saw it they begged to have it added to our bedtime reading along with the chapter books in which we are currently engrossed.
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs has the wonderful tongue-in-cheek humor of the Elephant & Piggie books (my favorite of all Willems' work!): when Goldilocks stops to think for a minute the author points out that is longer than she usually takes for either.
In this version Papa, Mama and the visiting Dinosaur from Norway already know the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They use the fairy tale as a blueprint to set a trap for an unsuspecting, "poorly supervised" little girl, plotting to fill her with chocolate pudding and then eat her. The illustrations of Goldilocks literally diving into the bowls of chocolate pudding delighted my 8-year-old; all the chairs are "too tall" since they are for dinosaurs; and Goldilocks never makes it all the way to the beds. There are two delightfully silly morals to the story--one for Goldilocks and one for the dinosaurs.
I highly recommend Mo Willems' latest great contribution to children's literature for ALL ages. Older readers (including adults) will belly-chuckle at the slightly more ascerbic humor that runs parallel just below the surface of the silliness that younger readers will devour in the same way as Elephant & Piggie, Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny and the more recent Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator!
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs has the wonderful tongue-in-cheek humor of the Elephant & Piggie books (my favorite of all Willems' work!): when Goldilocks stops to think for a minute the author points out that is longer than she usually takes for either.
In this version Papa, Mama and the visiting Dinosaur from Norway already know the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They use the fairy tale as a blueprint to set a trap for an unsuspecting, "poorly supervised" little girl, plotting to fill her with chocolate pudding and then eat her. The illustrations of Goldilocks literally diving into the bowls of chocolate pudding delighted my 8-year-old; all the chairs are "too tall" since they are for dinosaurs; and Goldilocks never makes it all the way to the beds. There are two delightfully silly morals to the story--one for Goldilocks and one for the dinosaurs.
I highly recommend Mo Willems' latest great contribution to children's literature for ALL ages. Older readers (including adults) will belly-chuckle at the slightly more ascerbic humor that runs parallel just below the surface of the silliness that younger readers will devour in the same way as Elephant & Piggie, Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny and the more recent Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator!
So funny! I greatly appreciate Mo Willems and his quirky, silly sense of humor. It's right up my alley.
Mo is a national treasure and this did not disappoint. I'm not sure if I got all of the nuances of the story across to my nephew but who cares he thought the dinosaurs were funny.
Mo Willems has done it again – but when does he put out a book that’s not a success? I think every children’s book he’s authored has been adored equally by critics, adults, and – most importantly – children. In this outing, he puts his own twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears with hilarious results. Instead of three bears, there are three dinosaurs; instead of porridge there’s chocolate pudding; instead of three beds there are three chairs, all of which are too tall. Goldilocks stumbles upon this tableau (minus the dinosaurs), and begins to make herself right at home. But something isn’t quite right, and she hightails it out of the house when she realizes that “This isn’t some bear’s house. This is some DINOSAUR’S house!” The dinosaurs burst through the front door just as Goldilocks is making her exit through the back door, and it becomes clear that they weren’t out for an innocent stroll – their plan all along was to capture some “chocolate-filled little girl bon-bons.” Keep an eye out for some of my favorite parts of the story – the random Dinosaur from Norway is hilarious (check out how his hat perches on one of his head-spikes), and astute readers will catch glimpses of the Pigeon throughout the book. Until next week…happy reading!
fast-paced