Kid's Choice: Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

My second graders loved this winking Goldilocks tale with a twist. There are no bears here, just three innocent dinosaurs who go for a walk (they are definitely not hiding in the woods nearby), leaving their door open and their chocolate pudding out, with absolutely no thought that a hapless little girl might wander in and provide them with a chocolate filled snack when they return.

Willems has a lot of fun here with the original story: hot, cold or just right, Goldilocks eats all of the pudding (it is chocolate pudding, after all.) And the chairs? The first and second ones are too tall. The third one...still too tall.

Will Goldilocks get out before the dinosaurs return from their...er...walk? Or will she be a chocolate pudding-filled bonbon for the hungry dinosaurs when they return?

As a bonus, the endpapers are covered with (presumably) rejected ideas for Goldilocks stories. Goldilocks and the Three Plumbers? Goldilocks and the Three Wall Street Types? If anyone could make it work, it would be Willems.

Book note

When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition
by Jack Zipes
1999

A concise history of fairy tales, concentrating on major fairy tale movements in various countries and a few singular personalities (Grimms, Hans Christian Andersen, Baum.) Connects places and times where fairy tales flourished with historical and personal contexts. A no-nonsense history, smoothly presented; also includes a helpful bibliography including numerous primary and secondary sources.

Quote

"However, due to the Puritan hostility toward amusement during the seventeenth century, the fairy tale as a genre was not able to flourish in England."

When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition
by Jack Zipes
1999