Goldilocks And The Three Bears (Ready to Read)

From School Library Journal Kindergarten-Grade 1-Two simplifications of well-known cautionary tales. Instead of just watering down the stories, however, the reteller whitewashes their entire purpose, eliminating the language and charm that young children love, to say nothing of the social values. Goldilocks has three bears of indeterminate relationship or size, even though the illustrations depict them as papa, mama, and child. The time-honored order of porridge, chairs, and then up to bed is also altered. The entire text is in dialogue, yet not a single quotation mark or "said" is included. Things just happen, and Goldilocks leaves none the wiser. The Three Little Pigs continues in a similar vein. There is a lot of huffing and puffing but no message about the rewards of a good work ethic. Instead, the wolf goes head first down the chimney, but lands tail first in the pot only to get up and leave with a good-bye. The watercolor cartoons in both titles are equally styleless. Beginning readers deserve better, and librarians should not be attracted to this bland series because of the familiarity of the titles.