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Goldilocks and Just One Bear
In this award-winning author/illustrator’s witty sequel to the traditional Goldilocks story, Little Bear is all grown up and Goldilocks is a distant memory. One day, Little Bear wanders out of the woods and finds himself lost in the Big City. Will he find the city too noisy? Too quiet? Or just right? And what are the chances of him bumping in to someone who remembers exactly how he likes his porridge?
32 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2012
About the author
Leigh Hodgkinson
39 books24 followersLeigh is the author and illustrator of Goldilocks and Just the One Bear and illustrator of the Magical Mix-Ups series.
Leigh is an award-winning animator and worked as art director on the BAFTA-award winning animated series, Charlie and Lola.
She is also an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, who is absolutely passionate about writing, making things up and daydreaming. Among her many brilliant picture books is Don’t Dip Your Chips in Your Drink, Kate, written by Caryl Hart, which won Highly Commended in the 2010 Sheffield Children’s Book Award, Picture Book Category.
Leigh lives and works in Surrey and is married with a baby daughter.
Leigh is an award-winning animator and worked as art director on the BAFTA-award winning animated series, Charlie and Lola.
She is also an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator, who is absolutely passionate about writing, making things up and daydreaming. Among her many brilliant picture books is Don’t Dip Your Chips in Your Drink, Kate, written by Caryl Hart, which won Highly Commended in the 2010 Sheffield Children’s Book Award, Picture Book Category.
Leigh lives and works in Surrey and is married with a baby daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 291 reviews
September 4, 2017
When a bear drifts from the quiet darkness of the forest and into the Big City, he is shocked to see how awful things can turn out to be. However, he soon discovers an apartment where he locates a few places to sit and things to eat, until he falls fast asleep in a bed of his choosing. The family returns, which leads to much shock and recognition by the 'mommy character'. What follows is a humerous flashback to when bear and 'mommy' were younger. Neo liked this alternate telling of the Goldilocks story, especially the spin this story offered young readers.
April 3, 2019
Cute book, very funny.
November 1, 2020
A bit like a sequel to Goldilocks and the Three Bears, this enjoyable story follows a bear as he travels into the real world! I loved all of the inter-textual fairy-tale references in the book and would enjoy reading and spotting these with a class of KS1 children. This would also be a good book to use in drama to learn about friendship and feelings.
November 3, 2012
This is a FUN, clever, read. I definitely enjoyed it, though I wondered how the familiar yet different spin was going to end. When I got to the ending, it was VERY satisfying. Great job, Leigh Hodgkinson!
November 9, 2022
While out walking in the woods, one bear gets really lost, and winds up in the city. The bear finds a place away from the hustle and bustle, and noise of the city. This fractured fairy tale reunites two old friends from the past as similar and familiar events occur throughout the story.
November 18, 2020
This is a modern take on the tale of 'goldilocks and the three bears' where baby bear finds himself lost in the city! He stumbles across a house where he decides to have some 'porridge', have a sit down and have a rest in bed. The same phrases of 'too...., too..., just right' are used by the bear in this book. At the end of the book, the house turns ours to belong to Goldilocks who cooks him some porridge that is 'just right'.
I love the role-reversal of goldilocks and baby bear in this book. I would love to use this in a class to see whether they are able to see the intertextual links.
I love the role-reversal of goldilocks and baby bear in this book. I would love to use this in a class to see whether they are able to see the intertextual links.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2020
This book is hilarious!
Taught a lesson to Y1 today on twisted fairytales using Bethan Woollvin's 'Hansel and Gretel' and one child said it reminded them of this book as it's a twisted version! Luckily, he had it in his book bag so I had a quick read and it just made me laugh out loud! Very unpredictable ending and the children love it!
Taught a lesson to Y1 today on twisted fairytales using Bethan Woollvin's 'Hansel and Gretel' and one child said it reminded them of this book as it's a twisted version! Luckily, he had it in his book bag so I had a quick read and it just made me laugh out loud! Very unpredictable ending and the children love it!
October 19, 2020
A nice retelling/sequel to the Traditional Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
But this time, Baby Bear, when they get lost in the big city, comes across Goldilocks’ house and trials lots of her things.
I think young children will find this rather amusing, especially when Baby Bear tries all of the ‘porridges’.
But this time, Baby Bear, when they get lost in the big city, comes across Goldilocks’ house and trials lots of her things.
I think young children will find this rather amusing, especially when Baby Bear tries all of the ‘porridges’.
November 3, 2017
This story is an interesting sequel to Goldilocks and the three bears. There is lots of interesting vocabulary and is written in a funny way. It would link well to literacy work on twists on traditional tales.
November 7, 2020
The bear goes on an adventure and swaps character with Goldilocks in the big city. This book would be a great end of the day story to share with the children and see if they recognise the intertext links. A very interesting follow on book from Goldilocks and the three bears.
July 11, 2017
I loved the city setting, the fun illustrations and the twist in this Goldilocks variation.
October 25, 2017
A modern and exciting twist of such a famous narrative!
February 1, 2018
Fun, silly and cute twist to Goldilocks and the three bears. Little bear is all grown up and gets lost in the city. The further into the city he gets the more he doesn't like. He makes his way into a house and gets a big surprise at the end. Story line and illustrations are great!
January 12, 2018
An excellent modern twist on the tradition tale of Goldilocks and the three bears!
October 11, 2012
Grades K-3
The familiar tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is turned on its ear when a bear, lost in the city, stumbles into an apartment. Hungry, he looks for a bowl of porridge. The first dish (a fishbowl with some goldfish swimming around) is too soggy; the second (goldfish crackers for cats) is too crunchy; the third (buttered toast) is "a bit on the dry side, but it is better than nothing." He is similarly flummoxed when he looks for a comfortable chair-- the first (a cactus) is too prickly. Once he settles into his "just right" bed, the family comes home, and the daddy person, the mommy person, and the little person quickly realize that SOMEBODY has been messing with their stuff. But when the mommy person and the bear see each other-- a glimmer of recognition-- could it be?? The grown versions of Goldilocks and Baby Bear reunite, and all is happily ever after. Kids will love the over-the-top humor, and the illustrations a la Lauren Child (Hodgkinson is an animator for the Charlie and Lola TV series) are delightful. A fun read-aloud and a great addition to any fractured fairy tale collection.
The familiar tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears is turned on its ear when a bear, lost in the city, stumbles into an apartment. Hungry, he looks for a bowl of porridge. The first dish (a fishbowl with some goldfish swimming around) is too soggy; the second (goldfish crackers for cats) is too crunchy; the third (buttered toast) is "a bit on the dry side, but it is better than nothing." He is similarly flummoxed when he looks for a comfortable chair-- the first (a cactus) is too prickly. Once he settles into his "just right" bed, the family comes home, and the daddy person, the mommy person, and the little person quickly realize that SOMEBODY has been messing with their stuff. But when the mommy person and the bear see each other-- a glimmer of recognition-- could it be?? The grown versions of Goldilocks and Baby Bear reunite, and all is happily ever after. Kids will love the over-the-top humor, and the illustrations a la Lauren Child (Hodgkinson is an animator for the Charlie and Lola TV series) are delightful. A fun read-aloud and a great addition to any fractured fairy tale collection.
November 19, 2012
I love this twist. The pictures and text seemed a bit busy. That would be fine for a school-age storytime; perhaps to busy for preschool. School-age should get the humor; it would depend on the preschooler. A lap-read would work for the preschool age. And a read-alone would be enjoyable for the school-age as well. I like it a lot, I may still consider putting it in a preschool storytime somewhere.
10/25/12 Replaced Mo Willems' goldilocks with this one in my Thu. BIG things preschool theme. This worked much better. Even though the pictures were a little busier, the group picked up the twist in the humor and understood the text better. Parents loved the twist. (Head's up: font did take a bit of concentration to read.)
10/25/12 Replaced Mo Willems' goldilocks with this one in my Thu. BIG things preschool theme. This worked much better. Even though the pictures were a little busier, the group picked up the twist in the humor and understood the text better. Parents loved the twist. (Head's up: font did take a bit of concentration to read.)
October 15, 2012
Poor Baby Bear gets lost in New York City and ends up in Snooty Towers where he needs immediate rest and refreshment. What’s a bear to do? If only he had paid attention to the maps featured on the end papers! With a contemporary twist, this fractured fairy tale reunites him with an old friend he never thought to see again. This well-developed plot and energetic, creative storytelling rhythm with clever rhythms, sounds (“wobbly,” “whooshy,”“soggy,” “frothy”, “ouchy,” “puttering”) [unpaged], and dynamics team up with silly, and occasionally chaotic, mixed-media illustrations with emotive shaped hand-lettered words that leave the reader laughing. Grandkids (ages 3 & 4) enjoyed it because they were familiar with the original *Goldilocks and the Three Bears*.
June 19, 2014
I have never really enjoyed the story of Goldilocks as I consider her to be so NOT a role model for children.
But I did enjoy this story immensely. Wry and witty writing make this story a fun one to read.
But I did enjoy this story immensely. Wry and witty writing make this story a fun one to read.
December 30, 2016
This reverse retelling of Goldilocks was a nice idea, even if I didn't really enjoy the story. I suppose kids will like the humor but it didn't work at all with me, the bear seemed stupid because of it. However, the ending was good and I also enjoyed the art.
November 2, 2012
Wonderful role-reversal of the original story - great voice, and I love the puns in the art.
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May 14, 2017Taking two bears from the original story and making it metro with fantastic word graphics, Hodgkin's futuristic tale is ToTaLLy TeRRiFic!!!
-Monty K.-
-Monty K.-
May 30, 2018
As a little girl, one of my favorite stories was Goldilocks and The Three Bears. The character Goldilocks always made me giggle and then later in life I began to wonder, what on earth was she thinking? So today's #BookaDay picture book, Goldilocks and Just One Bear by Leigh Hodgkinson was an absolute delight. I selected the book based on Ramona Recommends: Picture Book List for Upper Grade, a free resource on Teachers Pay Teachers. This selection is under the Writing & Reading Section for mentor texts to use for helping students understand Problem and Solution.
The story begins with a bear who is lost in the city. I absolutely love both the pictures and font used to illustrate this book. Within the pictures you see the street sign Princess Avenue and building signs such as The Three Little Pigs Bank. I recommend taking time at looking at the detail, it is really fun. The bear decides that he needs to rest and finds an uptown loft to do so. Here, he goes through a few memorable activities which lead to his nap; only to be awoken by the family that lives there. You will be surprised and thrilled to see who the loft is owned by in the ending of the story.
In the classroom, I would use this book to assist students with writing and reading skill: problem and solution. In addition, I may want to complete a compare and contrast lesson in between the stories; Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Goldilocks and Just One Bear. You could set up a Venn Diagram and help the students come up with similarities and differences between the two stories. Meeting the ELA Idaho Standard: RI.5.5 Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts; as well as Anchor Standards for Reading: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9 Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
The story begins with a bear who is lost in the city. I absolutely love both the pictures and font used to illustrate this book. Within the pictures you see the street sign Princess Avenue and building signs such as The Three Little Pigs Bank. I recommend taking time at looking at the detail, it is really fun. The bear decides that he needs to rest and finds an uptown loft to do so. Here, he goes through a few memorable activities which lead to his nap; only to be awoken by the family that lives there. You will be surprised and thrilled to see who the loft is owned by in the ending of the story.
In the classroom, I would use this book to assist students with writing and reading skill: problem and solution. In addition, I may want to complete a compare and contrast lesson in between the stories; Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Goldilocks and Just One Bear. You could set up a Venn Diagram and help the students come up with similarities and differences between the two stories. Meeting the ELA Idaho Standard: RI.5.5 Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts; as well as Anchor Standards for Reading: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9 Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
May 9, 2019
I really enjoyed this variation of Goldilocks and the three bears; this particular story is called Goldilocks and Only One Bear. In this version, the cub is all grown up and ventures into the city. Instead of following Goldilock’s journey of unknown, we are following the bears adventure in an unfamiliar location. The readers are already engaged because the book already correlates to a previous known fairytale, yet this story shares a twist. The author’s witty phrases and visualizations help make this picture book stands out. I would recommend this book to an Elementary teacher because this well written piece would be fun to create into an interactive lesson that discusses parallelism.
I believe that Leigh Hodgkison did not only an amazing job on the text portion of this story, but she also excelled in the illustrations. Each page of this picture book contains detailed illustrations that correlate with the text perfectly. I like how the buildings in the city are attractive colors such as light blue and all the windows are painted a different color. Young readers would be attracted to the bear and how he reacts to the city life and uncomfortable situations. The images capture the bears, and other character emotions and cause a physical reaction in the reader. Overall. I believe that the pictures were colorful and appealing, and I would recommend this book due to the detailed images that correlate well with the story
Review by Karrah Mattingly
I believe that Leigh Hodgkison did not only an amazing job on the text portion of this story, but she also excelled in the illustrations. Each page of this picture book contains detailed illustrations that correlate with the text perfectly. I like how the buildings in the city are attractive colors such as light blue and all the windows are painted a different color. Young readers would be attracted to the bear and how he reacts to the city life and uncomfortable situations. The images capture the bears, and other character emotions and cause a physical reaction in the reader. Overall. I believe that the pictures were colorful and appealing, and I would recommend this book due to the detailed images that correlate well with the story
Review by Karrah Mattingly
May 13, 2022
This Goldilocks sequel begins with one little bear who loses his way. He finds himself in a city of bright lights and loud sounds. He makes his way into a home where he finds a place to sit, some food to eat, and a nice bed to rest his legs. While the little bear is sleeping peacefully, the family returns to find that someone has been in their home. The young boy leads his mother to his bed where he's found the bear peeking out from beneath the sheet. The mother pauses, thinking of how the situation seems quite familiar, and suddenly, they recognize one another. She's Goldilocks!
This was such a fun read! As a big fan of the original Goldilocks tale, I found this book to be lovely. The author's words dance across each page matching perfectly with the vibrant colors and patterns throughout. I especially love that Goldilocks and Little Bear share a bowl of porridge and reminisce on the past. This would be a great book for the classroom or for young readers at home!
This was such a fun read! As a big fan of the original Goldilocks tale, I found this book to be lovely. The author's words dance across each page matching perfectly with the vibrant colors and patterns throughout. I especially love that Goldilocks and Little Bear share a bowl of porridge and reminisce on the past. This would be a great book for the classroom or for young readers at home!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2020
Mads (age 7) laughed heartily at the bear confusing a goldfish bowl with too-soggy porridge and a cactus with a too-ouchy chair. I, however, question the idea of a bed being too pink to sleep in--it seems like there might be something else in that high-rise apartment the bear could've confused for a bed that would've matched the silliness and playfulness of his other gaffes. The art in this is bold and has an almost kaleidoscopic quality to it that is really lovely to behold. Mads and I enjoyed reading the signage on the city-scape spread and naming all the fairy-tale references therein. I wonder what it means, though, that the bear didn't seem to learn anything from his babyhood visit from Goldilocks. Grown-up Goldilocks learned to be gracious, at least, when her home is invaded and her cat sat-upon.
September 21, 2017
A fun, modern twist on the classic we grew up with. The graphics are rich with details. They're whimsical and colourful for young ones to drink in. The children loved the funny, silly things the Bear did, such as sitting on a cactus. Some got who the owner of the apartment was, some did not. The overall response was that it was sweet that G wasn't angry with B but rather, she showed him warm hospitality. That was a great teachable moment about seeking forgiveness and being forgiven. As an adult, this is one of the children's books that I enjoy and would recommend it to kids from ages 5-6 (preferably those who are already familiar with the tale of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears). The more advanced learners can even try reading it on their own.
February 23, 2019
In this twist on the Goldilocks classic, Bear is hoping to escape the busy city he has wandered into by relaxing in a high-rise apartment. Bear tries to eat from a fishbowl, sit on a cactus, and sleep in a bathtub. Then, when the family returns to their apartment, the mommy person turns out to be Goldilocks and the two are reunited. It bothered me that the book repeatedly said "the little person" when referring to the spawn of the mommy person and the daddy person; I wish Hodgkinson had said "the young person" or "the child" instead. I also don't understand how a bed is "too pink" to sleep in. Ultimately, this book is really not for me. I liked the idea of it but not the execution.
October 17, 2017
A cute way of telling the future of Goldilocks. The bear is lost in a big city and happens upon an apartment building, little does he know this is the building of his old friend Goldilocks. Tables have turned and the bear eats, sits, and sleeps in Goldilocks' apartment. She comes home with her family to find things are not as they left them. She sees her old friend and they hang out and eat with her family. Until he realizes it is his time to find his way back to the woods. The illustrations in this twist on Goldilocks are vibrant and playful!
July 22, 2019
A nice twist on the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story. Bear wanders away from home and finds himself in the city. Everything is TOO loud and TOO busy. He encounters a revolving door and it dumps him inside the building very dizzy. He takes the elevator all the way to the top floor to avoid the noise of the city and lets himself into a very beautiful apartment, but finds the porridge, the chairs and the beds not to his liking. A loud noise awakens him and he finds himself surrounded by 3 humans. But the mommy one looks familiar and seems to recognize him.
November 27, 2020
A lovely sequel to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This time baby bear has grown up and finds himself lost in the city, he enters somebody's apartment and helps himself to some food and sleeps in a bed. It turns out that this is Goldilocks and her family's house. It would be good to read this story with FS or KS1 children after they are familiar with the traditional version of the story. There are lots of opportunities to explore the different characters' feelings through discussion or drama. A fun read-aloud story which also has opportunities to base work around.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 291 reviews