Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
Hardcover: 40 Pages
Published by Balzer + Bray
ISBN: 9780062104182
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs is a hilarious rendition of the classic tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In the typical Mo Willems style, the prose is humorous and witty, the illustrations are bright and charming, and the book will likely entertain adults just as much as kids.
In this version of the story, three dinosaurs set a trap for Goldilocks and wait in the woods for the little girl to appear. Willems points out that their motives are unknown, but questionable. Perhaps the dinosaurs were discussing trapping and eating Goldilocks alive, but it "could have been a rock falling. Or a squirrel." Of course, the "poorly supervised little girl named Goldilocks came traipsing along" and fell right into the trap (or not a trap). As the book explains, Goldilocks doesn't make the best decisions in the world. She never listens to warnings and she loves to go into the houses of strangers. But even so, she soon figures out that the dinosaurs are waiting for to go to sleep so that they can barge in and eat her (which isn't too hard to do...they're standing right outside the door chuckling about how delicious she will taste), and she escapes through the back door just in time.
And just in case you wondering, this story has two morals - one for dinosaurs and one for everyone else. For dinosaurs, "Lock the back door," and for everyone else, "If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave." Adorable. Anyone who is tired of the same old tired nursery rhymes and fairy tales will find Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs refreshing and entertaining. Plus, kids are all about dinosaurs these days, so it's bound to be a big hit for your little one.
I especially love the fact that the endpapers are printed with crossed out alternative titles for the story, such as "Goldilocks and the Three Dragons," "Goldilocks and the Three Underwear Salesmen," and "Goldilocks and the Three Peacocks." If your child or student enjoys this book, it could be a fun and hilarious activity to have them come up with their own original "Goldilocks and the Three..." tale. You could even use the suggestions printed in the endpapers as starting points. Another fun activity would be to have your child come up with their own version of a fairy tale of their choosing. For example, you could suggest "Little Pink Riding Pony and the Big Bad Jockey" (or something along those lines anyway). The point is, Mo Willems is creative and inspires readers of all ages to be creative and silly, which is the perfect opportunity to show kids how reading can be not just educational, but interactive and entertaining, too!
Read-Alikes:
- Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty? And Other Notorious Nursery Tale Mysteries by David Levinthal
- The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
- Prince Cinders by Babette Cole
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