Bear and the Three Goldilocks
by Patrick Horne; illus. by Dan Yaccarino
Primary    Holiday    40 pp.
7/25    9780823455522    $18.99

In this rollicking riff on the famous folktale, a human family named Goldilocks (Mr. Goldilocks, Mrs. Goldilocks, and young Goldie) goes on a camping trip in the woods. When the three decide to take a hike before eating their freshly made s’mores, Bear arrives. With apt pacing, Horne adds a comical spin to the classic story’s structure: Bear does not like the first s’more (“too gooey”) or the second (“too chocolaty”) but still devours them after savoring the “just right” third one. Is he satisfied? No way. He gulps down their beans, bread, and hot sauce, packaging and all. Bear then tests out the family’s musical instruments, accidentally destroying them, and after further destruction falls asleep in Goldie’s tent. Yaccarino employs his signature crisp, bold artistic style to humorous effect when showing the expressive bear wreaking havoc. When the Goldilocks family returns and discovers the damage, Bear’s parents also turn up and apologize for their cub’s behavior, wishing to make amends and asking the humans to their house to eat their porridge, sit in their chairs, and sleep in their beds (but the people, who “did not speak Bear,” hear only growls). A clever fractured fairy tale packed with visual jokes and surprising narrative twists. A link to the National Park Service’s advice about bear safety is included.

From the July/August 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.