Most elementary-aged children have already met Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood in their literary travels, establishing a firm foundation for further explorations of these tales as well as an examination of story basics. The vivacious versions for kindergarten through grade four featured here play with characterization, setting, time period, point of view, conflict, and plotting to create delightful retellings and re-creations that mingle familiar elements with fresh and imagination-stretching innovations. Students’ fluency with the bare-bones plots encourages them to predict events, identify variations, and revel in unexpected twists and turns, bolstering reading and critiquing confidence. Compare and contrast different takes on each tale by making story maps or diagrams, pinpointing changes and deviations, and identifying the key story elements that have been altered (characterization, setting, etc.). Explore themes of the original stories and discuss how the same ideas are handled in the different versions. Talk about how each book’s illustrations impact the tone, setting, and action of the telling. Have students choose an aspect to toy with and write and illustrate their own versions of a familiar tale.
The Third Time’s a Charm: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Set in a contemporary city, Natasha Yim and Grace Zong’s Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas (Charlesbridge, 2014) stars a protagonist with shining coal-black locks, a bad habit of breaking things, and—despite her name—a lack of good luck. On Chinese New Year, her mother wakes Goldy up before breakfast and sends her to their neighbors’ apartment with a plate of turnip cakes and Kung Hei Fat Choi wishes. After knocking on the door, Goldy gently pushes it open, trips, and spills the goodies all over the floor. As she searches for the broom, she spots three steaming bowls of congee and, tummy rumbling, decides to taste the rice porridge. So it goes, until the Chan family—three pandas, of course—returns to discover a big mess and Goldy sound asleep on Little Chan’s futon. Back at home, she thinks about her actions, and, truly embracing the spirit of this start-the-year-fresh holiday, decides to set things right. Themes of friendship and forgiveness resound, as Goldy makes amends and is invited to bake a new batch of turnip cakes (a recipe and information about Chinese New Year customs are appended). The text playfully incorporates festive food-related similes (Goldy feels “like stuffing in a pork bun” in Mrs. Chan’s upholstered armchair), and both narrative and acrylic artwork abound with details of Chinese-American culture.
Susan Middleton Elya and Melissa Sweet’s Rubia and the Three Osos (Disney/Hyperion, 2010) retells the tale with lighthearted humor and a bilingual text. After the family Oso goes out for a stroll, a pink-cheeked girl with “curls made of oro” makes herself at home in their casita, sipping the sopa left out on the table (one bowl caliente, one frío, and one perfecto); trying out the sillas; and finally settling down to sleep in a cozy pequeña cama. When the furry trio returns to find their house in disarray, they react with surprise (and Papá’s toothy growl), and a startled Rubia runs away. Realizing her mistake, she later returns with a sincere “Lo siento,” a pot of homemade sopa, and glue to patch Bebé’s broken chair, earning the friendship and affection of the family Oso (“Fabuloso”). Spanish terms are integrated into the jaunty rhyming text (a glossary is appended) and the collage artwork evokes the Southwest setting with bright hues, cacti-sprinkled landscapes, and sunny interiors.
Powering her giggle-inducing version with wordplay, Erica S. Perl introduces a bright-eyed kid (of the family Bovidae) with four hooves, floppy ears, and a dainty polka-dotted scarf. Goatilocks and the Three Bears (S & S/Beach Lane, 2014) gives the phrase “it was just right” new meaning, as the voracious goat wolfs down Baby Bear’s porridge (and then gobbles up the bowl and spoon), tries his little chair (and consumes it, cushion and all), and devours his bed (plus pillows, blanket, and PJs). Startled by the returning bears, Goatilocks quickly “hoof[s] it for home,” but then, feeling a bit “sheepish,” apologizes by bringing by a beautiful—and delicious—bouquet. The goat’s outrageous appetite tacks on an added layer of silliness to the traditional plot, and youngsters will titter with anticipation as she hungrily eyes each item. Arthur Howard’s exuberant cartoons play up the humor with buoyant lines, visual high jinx, and exaggerated facial expressions. Share the author’s book trailer with your students and watch as a real-live goat chomps on a copy of Goatilocks.
Mo Willems also employs an entertaining characterization renovation in his hilarious Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, 2012). “One day for no particular reason” (ahem), the sharp-toothed trio tidies up their house, prepares three bowls of yummy chocolate pudding, and then departs for “Someplace Else” (they “were definitely not hiding in the woods waiting for an unsuspecting kid to come by”). Of course, the rather heedless Goldilocks barges right in, eating until she’s “stuffed like one of those delicious chocolate-filled-little-girl-bonbons,” gawking confoundedly at the giant-size furniture, and finally figuring things out and fleeing before the hungry predators return. Working in gleeful harmony, Willems’s vibrant cartoons and tongue-in-cheek text invite readers to be in on the joke. With their slyly cocked eyebrows and villainous “Heh, heh, hehs,” the dastardly dinos are a hoot, and youngsters will appreciate this particularly obnoxious portrayal of Goldilocks and breathlessly await her moment of revelation (“This isn’t some bear’s house. This is some DINOSAUR’S house!”).
In Allan Ahlberg’s Goldilocks Variations (Candlewick, 2012), the “cheeky girl” romps her way through the traditional tale (practically thumbing her nose at her grumpy ursine hosts) and then, in one iteration after another, bursts into the red-doored cottage again and again to tangle with 33 bears (and an equally exhausting number of porridge bowls, chairs, and beds); three globular green aliens (the cottage has been transformed into a futuristic spaceship—or “trood”—and the baby Bliim wails, “Who’s been dodderling my spootz?”); baby bear’s brought-to-life furniture (Boris the bed gives a ghostly howl to frighten her away); and a stream of personages from other fairy tales. She headlines in a children’s theater extravaganza presented in an inset booklet complete with script, pop-up stage, and enthusiastic audience participation. In the final rendition, a tired Goldilocks gets ready to go to sleep only to discover several unexpected visitors tucked away in her bed. Jessica Ahlberg’s delicate watercolor-and-ink illustrations and the book’s interactive elements engage readers and the anything-can-happen interpretations send imaginations soaring.
Never Stray from the Path: Little Red Riding Hood
Sybille Schenker’s striking artwork deftly dramatizes Anthea Bell’s translation of Little Red Riding Hood (Minedition/Michael Neugebauer, 2014). Thick black lines, dusky hues, and a masterful use of light create tableaux that look like stained glass. Delicate die-cut folios utilize detail and color contrasts to enhance the images both before and after the page is turned. For example, Little Red Cap first greets her grandmother through an intricately latticed curtain that conceals the bed’s sharp-toothed occupant; the page turn switches the visual perspective to that of the wolf (readers can see the critter, but the girl, now obscured behind the curtain, is kept in the dark). Cleverly manipulating mood and meaning, the artwork contributes greatly to the story’s pacing and emotional impact, providing a cinematic reading experience that makes youngsters feel as though they have stepped right into the story.
In a retelling set in contemporary urban Ghana, Pretty Salma (Clarion, 2007) is sent to the market by her grandmother. Donning blue head scarf, bright-stripped ntama (wrap-around skirt), and yellow sandals, the girl promises not to talk to strangers and heads out with a basket balanced on her head. Hot and tired after her errand, she takes a shortcut home through the “wild side of town,” where the sweet-talking Mr. Dog tricks her into giving him her heavy load and items of clothing. Traditional tropes are skillfully reworked and reimagined, as the villain disguises himself as Salma and attempts to take her place in Granny’s home (and then feast on “granny soup” after the woman discovers the ruse). Never fear, Salma is on the way to save the day with her storyteller grandfather (dressed as Anansi) and a scary Ka Ka Motobi (bogeyman) mask. Niki Daly’s lively text hums with sound effects and rhythmic language, and his lithe cartoon-style paintings brim with humorous touches, cultural details, and the bustling energy of the locale.
Written with bounding rhymes, breezy silliness, and an eye cocked more toward pop-culture than ethnic culture, Corey Rosen Schwartz’s Ninja Red Riding Hood (Putnam, 2014) puts the emphasis on madcap action. Fed up with continually “getting licked/by the dinner he picked,” a wolf decides to study martial arts to better battle his ninja-powered prey. Finally mastering kicks and katas, he sets out for the dark woods in search of his first victim—a seemingly easy mark in a crimson cloak. At grandma’s house, the wolf finally makes his move and attempts to gobble up Red…only to discover that “she’d gone to Ninja school, too!” (as did her gi-wearing Gran). Defeated, the wolf turns vegetarian and embraces yoga. Dan Santat’s jewel-toned artwork sparkles with comic characterizations, epic encounters, and laugh-out-loud antics.
Joan Holub and Melissa Sweet’s Little Red Writing (Chronicle, 2013) makes a delightful transition between the study of folktales and story elements and classroom creative writing projects. The teacher at pencil school has given Little Red and her lead-filled compatriots a writing assignment. Provided with a basket of special words and a warning to “stick to your basic story path so you don’t get lost,” the courageous protagonist resolves to pen the best story ever, heading through “a deep, dark, descriptive forest,” navigating through meandering sentence structures and confusing punctuation, and finally arriving in Principal Granny’s office to face down the Wolf 3000 (“the grumpiest, growliest, grindingest pencil sharpener ever made!”). Both text and illustrations are packed with witty details and smart puns that play off the traditional plot elements, the school setting, and the creative-writing process. This story makes the perfect warm up for students to pen their own version of a familiar folktale.
Need help getting students started? ReadWriteThink’s interactive “Fractured Fairy Tales” site provides simple summations of “Little Red Riding Hood” and two other tales along with guided templates highlighting characters, point of view, setting, and other elements that prompt users to envision their own changes. Kids can write their stories online and print out their finished works.
The Common Core State Standards below are a sampling of those referenced in the above books and classroom activities:
RL.1.1. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
RL.1.7. Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, and events.
RL 2.9. Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story by different authors or from different cultures.
RL 3.7. Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story.
RL 4.6. Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated….
W.2.3. Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events….
Joy Fleishhacker is a regular contributor to Curriculum Connections. Her recent articles include “Water: Earth’s Most Precious Resource” and “Reach for the Stars: Out-of-This World Astronomy Titles.”