Goldilocks Returns Picture Book Review

Lisa Campbell Ernst sets Goldilocks Returns fifty years after Goldilocks first met the three bears. Published in the year 2000, this twist on the traditional tale makes for exciting reading.

The middle aged Goldi now owns a lock shop that helps other people protect their homes from snoops like her. As she ages, she finds it unbearable to live with the guilt of breaking and entering, so she goes back to the bear’s cottage to fix what she broke all those years ago. Ernst’s humor is laugh out loud funny as she explains that baby bear’s mental scarring still has him using a tiny voice even though he is over fifty years old and a grown bear.

This book contains humor an adult will enjoy as they share this with young readers. Goldi’s return to the bear’s home once again wreaks havoc on the family, but this time she is blissfully unaware of how bad she can make their lives in the attempt to right the wrongs of her childhood.

Ernst’s illustrations are joyful and fluid. The pastel, ink and pencil illustrations are full of activity and jam-packed with details. The use of line thickness adds depth and dimension especially to the signs introducing “Goldi’s Locks and Keys.” (pg. 3-4). The middle age spread has hit Goldi and baby bear with a vengeance, and mama and papa are well into their old age and wrinkle stage according to Ernst’s imaginative drawings. The texture in the drawings adds interest to the large pastel areas like grass and trees. There is real life as well as humor in these pictures.