Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs- Book Review

1.       Bibliography

Willems, Mo. 2012. GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS. New York, NY:    HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062104182

2.      Plot Summary

In this humorous fractured fairy tale, Willems mirrors a famous story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and alters it with wit and sarcasm.  There is a Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and “some other Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway” who prepare their home before they go “someplace else”.  The Papa Dinosaur prepares three bowls of chocolate pudding at different temperatures while Mama Dinosaur makes up three beds and arranges three chairs.  While the dinosaurs are waiting in the forest for a little girl to enter their home, Goldilocks arrives.  She eats the pudding, attempts to sit in the large chairs, and almost lays in the bed before realizing she is not in the correct story and is in fact, in a dinosaur home, and quickly exists through the back door just as the dinosaur family rushes in.    

3.      Critical Analysis

Mo Willems cleverly retells a well-known tale with his sense of humor shining through.  Readers who know the original story are surprised with the twists Mo Willems altered.  This humor is set on the first page with “…there were three Dinosaurs; Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur, and some other Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway.”  Willems portrays the characters to be acting innocent in this situation by adding dialogue “I sure hope no innocent little succulent child arrives by our unlocked home…”  The narration adds to this sarcastic approach as well when Goldilocks enters as a “poorly supervised girl” and she is “not the type of little girl who listened to anyone or anything.”  The predictable pieces of the story are present and altered to surprise the reader.  Goldilocks wants to sit in a chair but “the first chair was too tall, the second chair was too tall, but the third chair-WAS TOO TALL.” 

Mo Willems famous cartoon-style illustrations are present and easily recognizable.  The bright and full page illustrations are simple and easy to focus on.  Of course Willems illustrations add to the humor of the story and you find yourself searching for details just to laugh.  The pictures on the refrigerator show the dinosaurs enjoying a beverage with human legs sticking out, the décor in the house said “Home Sweet Dinosaur Home”, and the welcome mat by the front door said “Welcome (Tee-Hee)” which added to the concept that the dinosaurs where planning on a visitor the entire time.  The expressions on the characters faces added to the plot and helped tell the story.

The humor and sarcasm in this book would be difficult to understand if the students did not have a firm foundation of the actually tale this story mirrors.   

4.      Review Excerpt(s)

Notable Children’s Book – 2013

Good Reads – “This new take on a fairy tale classic is so funny and so original- it could only come from the brilliant mind of Mo Willems.”

5.      Connections

*Gather other books written by Mo Willems and look at how his words and illustrations bring humor to readers.

*Gather more fractured fairy tales such as Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Jack and the Baked Beanstalk by Colin Stimpson.  Students will take their own approach in planning, drafting, revising, and editing their own version of a fractured fairy tale.