GOATILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS

This Goldilocks is a kid. Literally.

In Howard’s illustrations, the little white goat is both curious and hungry, and for Baby Bear, that means that not only is his porridge gone, but his bowl and his spoon as well, along with his chair, his bedding and a pair of his pajamas. “Burp!” As in the original, Goatilocks runs away after awakening to the three bears standing over her where she lies on the floor (she ate Baby Bear’s bed), but the tale does not end there. The next day, the kid feels “sheepish” and thinks of the perfect gift to try to make it up to the bear family, and in a rather sudden ending, the four neighbors join together in chowing down on the final spread. Modern-ish language updates the fairy tale; Papa Bear says “Get a load of this!” and Goatilocks “hoofed it for home,” though there is not much in the illustrations to point to any particular time period (Mama Bear does have a water bed, however). The few tongue-in-cheek details will go over the heads of the audience (Papa Bear carries a “Kodiak” camera), but there aren’t enough to make this one adults will want to read repeatedly…although that may not be a problem for most kids.

An uninspiring remake.