The Three Bears

by Byron Barton

Who's been sleeping in Baby Bear's bed? In a rhythmic text with striking pictures, Byron Barton retells the classic fairytale of the three bears and a little girl named Goldilocks. This sturdy board book edition is not too big, not too small, but just right for toddlers.

Accompanied by bold and vibrant colored paintings, Barton's story includes the rhythmic refrain children love to hear.

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Animals, Fairy Tales, Classics, Juvenile

32 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Byron Barton is the author and illustrator of many picture books for young children. He has been honored by ALA, SLJ, and Reading Rainbow. He worked as an animator for CBS before he started creating children's books. He is currently making his illustrations completely on the computer.

Reviews

[June]

I like this version of the tale, since I get younger children for my story times.12/4/12

Used for my story time and didn't have the wanderers this time. (I also had a class.)

Used in both PJ and Story Time and worked well both places. I had one lurker from the back come to the front for this story.

[Laura McLoughlin]

Meh. I wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations, but Kathryn enjoyed them and since she is the target audience it bumped it up from 2.5 stars to 3

[Dianna]

I love and hate Barton's illustrations. Hate because they're a little too simple and not that attractive, but love because kids just "get" them.

[Ronan Crutchfield]

The pictures in this book are so colorful and bold. I could stare at them forever

[Rachel]

The intended audience acts like this is a 5 star book. I thought it was a 3.5/4 star book. Preschoolers love the illustrations, the simple text, and it’s easy to give each character different voices when reading aloud.

I’ve read it to multiple groups of preschoolers, and it is always a hit.

It’s one of those books my own preschooler has read over and over again.

[Jordan Stewart]

PreK- 1st grade.
No awards.

This book is a board book of the famous Goldilocks and the three bears. The pictures are simple, but colorful. This book has a nice simple story line that students can remember and follow.

I love this book! I remember reading this book as a child!! This book has great illustrations and a great story line.

You could make a simple Felt board story for this. You could also make finger puppet or regular puppets for this book. This book is also great for a read aloud and acing out in the classroom.
Students could also talk about the main idea of the story and being a good classroom community member.

[Jessica]

We’ve read this one approximately two million times. Conner can now “read” it to me. Must buy a copy to be passed down I think.

[Samantha Mairson-Dougherty]

The illustrations are somehow startling yet vibrant and effective. The narrative stays true to the usual telling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but this version and it's special empathy for the bears (note the title's omission of Goldilocks, the scene where the bears encounter Goldilocks, and the scenes where Goldilocks is causing destructive harm to the belongings of baby bear). The empathy and emphasis is incredibly effective, and the ending is stark - leaving the reader(s) to wonder.

Did anyone else detect an allegory about race relations?

[Lara Baker]

It's a straight forward rendition of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", which some may find refreshing if they feel burnt out by the popularity of re-tellings or updated versions of traditional children's stories. Sometimes just the simple original story can serve as a nice pallet cleanser.

The illustrations are simple, bright and colorful--very much in a similar style to the animation of the "Maisy" cartoon series. They may not be to an adult's taste, but children will enjoy them especially the very young, which is why I'm giving this book 4 stars instead of 3.

[Mary]

Regardless of the wrong messages in this classic story, I think it is important to expose the little ones to the reference of goldilocks' too hot, too cold, just right line that will pop up throughout their lives. Amongst all the retellings, this Byron Barton's one has been my favorite. It has simple, cute illustrations with straightforward story of the Goldilocks and Three Bears, perfect for all ages.

[Alaysia Penton]

My personal reaction to this book was how cute this would be for a personal lesson to kids. My first thought is that this would be a good book for beginner readers. This is something that isn't too hard to read and has plenty of pictures. Some of the kids can make personal connections to this book.

[Janet]

Good version of The Three Bears for young children as the illustrations are done in Barton’s signature style, primary colors in very shape format. Nothing frightening in these illustrations for young children.

[Molly]

A version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" retold and illustrated by Byron Barton. This version is directed towards younger children and is therefore on the shorter side. It would work well for storytime. The illustrations are in Barton's signature style and are very nice.

[Kate M. Colby]

Jack and I borrowed this book from the library because it was one of my favorite books as a kid. I used to read with and to my mom all the time. Jack seemed to enjoy the bears, especially the silly voices I did for them, and thought it was funny when Goldilocks ran away scared.

[Lisa]

The standard story. While I didn't find the book outstanding, it certainly is good, and my toddler really liked the style of the pictures.

[Sam Dawson]

An original story of the folk tale of the three bears. Who ate little bears porridge ? Who broke his chair? Whose sleeping in his bed?

[Kaelin Miller]

I liked this book. The art was juvenile, though. With that aside, I think this books is great for preschoolers and kindergarteners. I recommend it for your classroom if you are a teacher.

[Kathryn]

Summary: Goldilocks and the three bears.

Why I Read This: It was on the books to read to your kids before kindergarten list.

Review: This was fine. It's a faithful version of the story.

[Halli]

A good, classic version of The Three Bears with colorful illustrations.

[Fourth Grade]

I think this book is a good book for a little kid. The book is a okay for me. In the book, the girl broke into the bear house and used things of the bears.

[kim]

solid version of the classic tale

[Jeff]

Basically Goldilocks and the 3 bears. This has okay illustrations but the story stayed true to the original.

[Audrey's Picture Books]

A solid retelling, neither the best nor the worst one out there

[Fernando Gonzalez]

stelling, trying out, not-respectful

[Lia Smith]

For the age range, I would consider this book to be appropriate for any reader to enjoy. I would recommend The Three Bears to beginner learner lessons that icorporate colors, numbers, and letters.

[Sally Despard]

I always have loved the story. The art is nice. There are too many words for my 1 year old grandson, but he likes listening to half the story.

[Jennifer Nortrup]

A perfectly fine retelling of the well-known story.

[Jamison Ray]

Lovely retelling of a popular story.

[Meaganken]

Goldilocks, Traditional Literacy, Discovery

[Patricia N. McLaughlin]

This straightforward retelling of the classic folktale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is just about as bland as Mama Bear’s porridge. Simple illustrations in primary colors add to the monotony.