The Three Snow Bears - Jan Brett

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

03 Jun 2008 03:44 PM

The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett is a fun twist on the familiar Goldilocks story. Aloo-ki, an Eskimo girl, is fishing when she loses her dogsled team on a ice floe. Nearby, a snow bear family starts to eat their breakfast. Since the meal is too hot for Baby Bear, Mother Bear suggests a walk. Allo-ki runs along, looking for her seld dogs. She comes across the biggest igloo she's ever seen. She wonders who lives there and ducks in the door. Inside she finds three bowls, big, middle-sized, and small filled with delicious smelling soup. Just like Goldilocks, she finds the big one too hot, the middle one too cold, and she drinks all the soup in the small bowl.

Next Aloo-ki sees three pairs of boots. The first are too big, the second pair is too fancy, and the third pair are just right. She wriggles her toes in the warm lining. Feeling tired, she decides it's time for a nap. There is along sleeping bench piled high with fur covers, she finds a too lumpy spot, a too soft spot, and then a spot that is cozy and warm."

The story includes the classic Jan Brett sidebars with illustrations that tell stories of their own. In this book the sidebars show mischievous ravens, dogs riding a slide, polar bears going for a swim, rescuing the sled dogs, and even the dogs trying on the polar bear's coats.

The bears come home and discover that someone has been eating their soup, trying on their boots, and sleeping in their beds. Aloo-ki opens her eyes to find three bear noses only inches away from heres. She runs under the Papa Bears furry legs and bursts outside to find her dogs. The huskies smile their "doggy grins". She looks back and waves a thank you to the snow bears who call out "bye-bye".

This is a fun version of the classic Goldilocks story. And Jan Brett's illustrations are, as always, just wonderful.

I do wish there was some version of Goldilocks where she did something nice for the bears. When my oldest son was little we always had to say that Goldilocks apologized to the bears, that her mother made them cookies, and that her father repaired poor Baby Bear's chair.

Also See:

Jan Brett's Website - Over 4000 Fun Activities

The Gingerbread Baby - Jan Brett

Arthur's Really Helpful Bedtime Stories

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger