Goldilocks and Just One Bear

by Leigh Hodgkinson, Leigh Hodgkinson (Illustrator)

Overview

“Who doesn't love a reunion show? . . . Hodgkinson’s dry sense of humor is on full display . . . and should earn this ‘Where are they now?’ fairy tale many re-reads.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In this award-winning author-illustrator’s witty sequel to the fairy tale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” Little Bear is all grown up and Goldilocks is a distant memory. One day, Little Bear wanders out of the woods and finds himself lost in the Big City. Will he find the city too noisy? Too quiet? Or just right? And what are the chances of him bumping into someone who remembers exactly how he likes his porridge?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536234855
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	11/07/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.88(w) x 11.44(h) x 0.17(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Leigh Hodgkinson is the illustrator of the Magical Mix-Ups series. She is an award-winning animator and worked as art director on the BAFTA award winning animated series Charlie and Lola. She is absolutely passionate about writing, making things up, and daydreaming. Leigh Hodgkinson lives in Surrey, England and is married with a baby daughter.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Hodgkinson’s drawings and helter-skelter text bear a resemblance to Lauren Child’s "Charlie and Lola" books, but this story’s happy ending is very much its own.
—New York Times online

Editorial Reviews

Hodgkinson’s mixed-media artwork is the real star. The retro illustrations are done in bold blues, lime greens and pinks and are full of patterns and wonderfully scratchy and marbled textures. The blond family’s clothing, hairdos and attitudes neatly match their penthouse home, and the text plays into the artwork.
—Kirkus Reviews

Hodgkinson’s drawings and helter-skelter text bear a resemblance to Lauren Child’s “Charlie and Lola” books, but this story’s happy ending is very much its own.
—New York Times online

The snappy, British-flavored language is perfectly paired with jazzy mixed-media illustrations in mustard yellow, teal, lime, and magenta.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

A sequel to the traditional fairy tale finds a bear lost in a big city. Overwhelmed by the noise and lights, the bear ducks into Snooty Towers apartments to escape and get some much-needed rest. Some porridge would hit the spot. But one bowl is too soggy (fishbowl water--with fish!), one too crunchy (cat food) and the last is dry but doable (buttered toast). The mishaps continue in his search for a chair and a bed (a cactus and bath tub are involved, and the cat continues to be abused). The return of the penthouse-dwelling family wakes him, and he listens to their complaints as they follow his trail through the apartment to the little person's bed where he is resting. The mommy person and the bear recognize each other and catch up over porridge before the now-grown Baby Bear finds his way back to the woods. Hodgkinson's mixed-media artwork is the real star. The retro illustrations are done in bold blues, lime greens and pinks and are full of patterns and wonderfully scratchy and marbled textures. The blond family's clothing, hairdos and attitudes neatly match their penthouse home, and the text plays into the artwork; "bright lights" is surrounded by lines depicting shine, while "wobbly" is written in a suitably shaky style. Cute, but readers may wonder how a bear who grew up in the cottage that Goldilocks visited could have not a "crumb-of-a-clue" about porridge, chairs and beds. (Fractured fairy tale. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews