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Summary
Summary
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs is a new take on the fairy-tale classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears, so funny and so original--it could only come from the brilliant mind of Mo Willems, the author/illustrator of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and the Elephant and Piggie series.
Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway.
One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl.
Definitely not!
This hilarious story is perfect for fans of the Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.
Author Notes
Mo Willems was born on February 11, 1968. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School for the Arts, he spent a year traveling around the world drawing a cartoon every day, which were published in the book You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons. For nine seasons, he worked as a writer and animator for PBS' Sesame Street, where he received 6 Emmy Awards for his writing. During this time, he also served as a weekly commentator for BBC Radio and created two animated series, Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats and Cartoon Network's Sheep in the Big City.
While working as head writer for Cartoon Network's Codename: Kids Next Door, he began writing and drawing books for children. He received three Caldecott Honor Awards for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! in 2004; Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale in 2005; and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity in 2008. He also created the Elephant and Piggie series for Easy Readers, which were awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal in 2008 and 2009.
His drawings, wire sculptures, and ceramics have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the nation. Occasionally he serves as the Radio Cartoonist for NPR's All Things Considered. He voices and produces animated cartoons based on his books with Weston Woods studios. The animated Knuffle Bunny was awarded Best Film during the New York International Children's Film Festival in 2008 and received the Andrew Carnegie Medal in 2007. His title Happy Pig Day made Publisher's Weekly Best Seller List for 2011. In 2012 his title Goldilocks and The Three Dinosaurs made The New York Times Best Seller List. In 2013 his titles: That is Not a Good Idea!, Let's Go for a Drive! and I'm a Frog! made the New York Times Best Seller List. In 2014 The Pigeons Need a Bath! and Waiting Is Not Easy! made the New York Times Best Seller List.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this sly sendup, Goldilocks (who could be a cousin of Knuffle Bunny's Trixie) ventures into the home of three diabolical dinosaurs. Having cooked up three bowls of chocolate pudding and arranged their house "just so," the two olive-green T. rexes and smaller brown dino lick their lips and make comments suggestive of a plot ("I sure hope no innocent little succulent child happens by our unlocked home"), while the mock-naive narration declares their innocence. They are "definitely not hiding in the woods," peeking fiendishly from the treetops, as "a poorly supervised little girl named Goldilocks came traipsing along." Goldilocks doesn't hesitate to enter the dinos' house or stick her whole head in their food ("who cares about temperature when you've got a big bowl of chocolate pudding? Not her"), and she wises up just in time to give herself, if not the dinosaurs, a happy ending. With a sense of irony (and humor) as sharp as this dinosaur trio's talons, Willems's retelling is a sure bet for audiences who have moved beyond more gently witty fare. Ages 3-7. Agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
"Once upon a time, there were three Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and some other Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway." Rather than being dupes like those folkloric bears, these three are calculating, methodical -- and hungry. Their plan is to lure Goldilocks into their home, entice her with chocolate pudding, then swoop in for a snack of "delicious chocolate-filled-little-girl-bonbons" while she snoozes on one of their comfy beds. She falls for it at first, but the dinosaurs, in their over-eagerness, give themselves away, allowing Goldilocks to beat a hasty retreat. The meta elements fly fast and furious throughout this zany tale, beginning with the endpapers on which alternative story ideas are crossed out: "Goldilocks and the Three Goldfish," "Goldilocks and the Three Naked Mole Rats," "Goldilocks and the Three Orthodontists," etc. On every page, the text winks broadly at readers, first pointing to and then playing with conventions of folklore, narrative voice, literary foreshadowing, and plain old common sense. (The story concludes with two morals: for Goldilocks, "If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave"; and for the dinosaurs, "Lock the back door!") Willemss illustrations are in understated hues -- the dinos are pea-soup green -- and the characters big, round eyes, hooded lids, and angled brows express, by turns, confusion, menace, glee, determination, and skepticism. Humorous details and in-jokes abound; the Pigeon even makes a couple of cameo appearances (hint: he finally gets his cookie). elissa gershowitz (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* This is Willems' first attempt at retelling a classic fairy tale and, if the endpapers are any indication, he might have struggled a bit at first. Red marks through such options as Goldilocks and the Three Clams and Goldilocks and the Three Orthodontists eventually give way to the ideal trio: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and some other Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. After they randomly set up three beds, three chairs, and three bowls of chocolate pudding, the dinosaurs head out to someplace else and hope that no innocent little succulent child happens by. Cue poorly supervised Goldilocks, who blithely barges in and helps herself to all the amenities awaiting her, until the pending danger finally dawns on her and she bolts, which causes the returning, hungry dinos to rue the fact they forgot to lock the backdoor. The book's masterful line art and muted color palette contain untold expressions, perspectives, and jokes, and the text dryly emanates irony, wit, and wonderful words like traipsing and groggy. Willems has delivered his very best work so far this is a tasty treat for kids already fluent with the original, and for any fan of funny, and everybody will want to read it again and again and again. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With three Caldecott Honor Books to his name plus zillions of fans Willems is children's book royalty.--Medlar, Andrew Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-In this signature retelling, Mama Dinosaur rubs her hands together while saying, "I SURE HOPE NO INNOCENT LITTLE SUCCULENT CHILD HAPPENS BY OUR UNLOCKED HOME WHILE WE ARE. uhhh. SOMEPLACE ELSE!" Children will automatically supply the classic version for comparison. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A hilariously fractured fairy tale. The structure's well-known, so the endpapers list myriad permutations, almost all crossed out: Goldilocks and the Three Clams? Three Ostriches? Three Glasses of Milk? Nope, it's Dinosaurs: Papa, Mama and one Dinosaur "who happened to be visiting from Norway." Details are tasty--chocolate pudding instead of porridge; a different furniture riff ("The first chair was too tall. The second chair was too tall. But the third chair-- [page turn] --WAS TOO TALL"). Even funnier are the obviously fraudulent protestations. Child-friendly irony lets readers giggle knowingly as Mama Dinosaur muses, "I SURE HOPE NO INNOCENT LITTLE SUCCULENT CHILD HAPPENS BY OUR UNLOCKED HOME WHILE WE AREuhhhSOMEPLACE ELSE!" They're "definitely not hiding in the woods waiting for an unsuspecting kid"; pudding sits unattended to enable the creation of "delicious chocolate-filled-little-girl-bonbons (which, by the way, are totally not the favorite things in the whole world for hungry Dinosaurs)." Winking, the text places readers gleefully in the know--and Goldilocks is no patsy either. Willems' trademark cartoon-style illustrations include sly eyebrows, sardonic glances and a fabulous picture of Goldilocks inside a pudding bowl. When she's beyond satiated, her pupils dilate--enormous, then tiny--subtly nodding to the old tale's "too big, too small" theme. Top-notch for group storytime, for a project on revising classics or just for enjoyment; funniest for kids who know the original. (Fractured fairy tale. 5-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
