Professor Goose Debunks Goldilocks and the Three Bears

June 1, 2022
Grades 1-3 In this series opener, a STEM-obsessed younger relative of Mother Goose sets out to fact-check the fairy tales page by page and finds plenty of errors. In nature, for instance, bears mostly live in dens or caves, not cottages. Similarly, according to the laws of thermodynamics, if Papa Bear's porridge was too hot, it would be Baby Bear's that was too cold, and Mama Bear's that was just right. Fortunately, Baby Bear is a budding researcher who follows the scientific method, gathering evidence from the state of the porridge and the chairs, forming a hypothesis, confirming it by marching into the bedroom, and then observing Goldilocks demonstrating the "fight-or-flight response" as she jumps out the window. Griffiths illustrates the incident in simply drawn scenes featuring rotund bears, a small blonde interloper, and, in side panels expanding on topics ranging from gravity to GPS, the occasional pink elephant or human scientist in a lab coat. Instructions for constructing a sturdy new chair for Baby Bear out of cardboard cap this eye-opening expos�.

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August 1, 2022

K-Gr 3-In this humorous take on "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," the know-it-all Professor Marie Curious Goose, great-grandniece of Mother Goose, adopts a professorial tone to retell the story with a lot of scientific tidbits and segues. With full-page artwork throughout, the story begins with Professor Goose, with a bit of punk rock pink hair, telling readers that she will fact check Mother Goose's work with science. She humorously narrates, pauses for sidebars, and is aided by a Black girl and a pale boy with yellow hair, explaining scientific concepts, such as thermodynamics and hibernation. Professor Goose has a light bulb moment (both in artwork and in speech) in relating Baby Bear's discovery of the Goldilocks intrusion, stating "FABULOUS! Baby Bear might be a budding scientist. I think she is about to use the Scientific Method to solve the mystery." The pen-and-ink artwork anthropomorphizes the animals into large-eyed cartoon characters who are a joyful match for the playful energy of Professor Goose. At the end of the book is a STEM craft that is very apropos of the DIY maker movement, as well as instructions on how to engineer a cardboard chair for a bear. VERDICT This imaginative book is perfect for libraries with makerspaces and strong STEM programming maker-ed activities.-Vi Ha

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