Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Retold and Illustrated by: Gennady Spirin

Genre: Traditional Literature

Grade: Three

Have you ever heard the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? Have you wanted to hear it again? If you answered yes or even no, then this is the book for you!

In this retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, by Gennady Spirin, we get to relive the childhood story. It begins by introducing us to papa, mama, and baby bear. Then we learn about the different sizes each bear has, papa had a big size, mama had a medium size, and baby bear has a small size. These things include bowls of porridge that they ate every morning, chairs, and beds. The story goes on and we read that one day these three bears leave their house to let their porridge cool off and that is when Goldilocks comes into the story. Goldilocks smells the porridge, climbs through the window, and helps herself to the porridge. Except when she gets into the house, she realizes that the big bowl was too hot, the medium size bowl is too cold, and the small bowl is just right, so she ate it all. After she ate, she went to the chairs and again decided between the three coming to the conclusion that baby bears chair was just right, but then it broke. She then decided that she needed to find a bed to lay down in. She once again decided that baby bear’s bed was just right. So, she fell asleep in it. But then the three bears came home and discovered that their porridge was eaten, someone sat in their chairs, and that their was a little girl in the bed. Goldilocks quickly woke up and ran out of the house with the bears behind her saying a nice “goodbye”. Then the story ends.

This story is a good one. The retelling echoes spoken language. It does not have olden day language, but more modern day. The language is easy to understand and even has dialogue for children to see who is talking. The illustrations are amazing. They go right along with what is being written and can actually tell a story of its’ own. Each character has their own traits. The three bears and Goldilocks are all represented and can be picked out easily. The plot is very direct and uncluttered. We know exactly what has happened by the end of the story because the plot was clearly thought out. The conflict is evident in this story. The setting and time are very clear.

The characters include papa bear, mama bear, little bear and Goldilocks. The setting is during the days. The problem is that the bears leave their house to let their meal cool off and Goldilocks enters and ends up falling asleep. The resolution is that Goldilocks wakes up and runs away, scared. The theme would be trespassing. 

I really enjoyed this story. I have always loved Goldilocks and the Three Bears and I will definitely put it in my classroom library. It allows children to use their imagination as well as seeing how stories can last for a long time. It will be a great book for third grade. It can tie into the Massachusetts Frameworks of

RL 3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.

RL 3. MA.8.A.Identify elements of fiction (e.g., characters, setting, plot, problem, solution) and elements of poetry (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, figurative language, alliteration, onomatopoeia).