Goldilocks and the Three Martians

by Stu Smith, Michael Garland (Illustrator)

A fresh new twist to the classic story follows Goldilocks, who, tired of her boring existence, travels to outerspace where she explores a Martian home and discovers that there is no place quite like home on Earth.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Space, Science Fiction, Storytime, Childrens, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 10, 2004

Reviews

[Christine Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a fractured fairy tail book of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This one is a little different from the original as Goldilocks decides to escape to space after having enough of her mother's strict nagging at home. She flew to space with her pet dog and cat and packed some porridge and cookies. She flew from planet to planet saying one was too hot, too big, too cold, etc and then she finally reached Mars and decided to land there. She then walks into a Martian's house and explores their stew, chairs, and beds like how the original story goes.

I thought this story was pretty relatable to life today as we sometimes want to escape someplace else if we are stressed and overwhelmed by our responsibilities. I also found it interesting when she took porridge with her when in the original books series, Goldilocks tries porridge of different temperatures. There was a double-page spread when it was showing when Goldilocks was floating around space with the force of gravity acting upon them. As for the text box, it is placed above or below the illustrations in a box. Overall, I enjoyed the small twists from the original story in this books and the relatable aspect to it.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goldilocks is upset with her mother because she is SO unreasonable - healthy eating, chores, etc. Inventive as she is she builds a space ship that takes her on a tour of the galaxy but none of the planets suit her. A ltitle fussy, are we? She finally finds a place she likes and is settling in nicely when the owners of the house return. Yes, they are space beings and would love to have Goldilocks for dinner (literally). A lot of fun that I think the kids will enjoy. And, of course, the parents will be happy to learn that Goldilocks finds out that her home and her parents are just the place for her.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun read. The rhyming was nice and sometimes followed a syllable pattern and sometimes did not so could be used as a teaching tool for that even in upper grades.

[Christine Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Reading 2019: Universe of Stories: Rocket Science

Traditional story with a space twist.

[Clara McIntosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could be a great book to use if you're talking about variations of classic fairy tales and includes lots of rhyme.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great rhyming Goldilocks story. This one has a lesson learned.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of the character Goldilocks because I don't like entitled behavior, and I don't like outer space stories either, so this was kind of a lose-lose for me.

[Britany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a spin on the original Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks takes her cat and dog on an adventure, making stops at every planet. At each stop she is unsatisfied with the planet, up until she arrives at the planet Mars. When she gets to Mars she finds an alien house where she makes herself right at home, and she falls asleep. The alien family returns home and they find her in their bed....

I thought that this was a really great read, and it followed the original story just enough to where it wasn't like reading the same book. Illustrations in the book made me feel as though I was watching a cartoon, and at times the words weren't even necessary to read. The bright colors, and details are eye grabbing, and the story really is short, cute and simple.

[K Morlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice read with little ones

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Goldilock’s mom is a huge nag, so Goldilocks builds a rocket to find another planet “where everything’s just right.” Her rocket runs on porridge, and she takes her three teddy bears along for the ride, which are both clear references to the original story. She ends up landing on Mars and seeing a Martian house, where she decides to go inside even though no one is home. The food, chairs, and beds situations are repeated just like in the original story, as well as the Martian family’s discovery of Goldilocks’s break-in. Unlike in the original story the Martians are excited that she’s there because they can eat her for dinner, a fate she only escaped when her dog and cat (also along for the ride) pulled her to out and into the safety of her rocketship.

[Sabrina Jacobs]

Little Goldilocks is sick of all the rules her mother sets at home, and decides to run away. But rather than running to another city, she flies to a whole new planet and ends up in the home of some martians! But it turns out that life on Mars is way worse than life on Earth had been.

A twist on the classic "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," this story provides a funny edge to a our favorite story. It's an exciting science fiction book for young readers, complete with a trip to outer space and aliens. The illustrations are all very brightly colored and give a good idea what life on Mars might actually look like. It also teaches an important lesson to kids: be thankful for what you've got.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

what an interesting take on a repeatedly told classic.
Young goldilocks misbehaves by not cleaning her room, do homework, or listening to her mom for that matter. Becoming fed up with her mom she builds a rocket ship to space and while being picky with her choice of planets she settles for mars, and the three bears story repeats itself only its martians instead of bears.
I think this book was interesting story with its illustrations and taught a very important lesson to young readers that the grass isnt always greener on the other side.

[Martha]

This story is an amazing way to retell a fairytale such as this one that has already been retold numerous times. The illustration used is amazing. The moral behind it is very great. Goldilocks mom is very hard on her and Goldilocks decides to build a rocket to find somewhere else to live at and in the end she ends up going home to her mother because she realizes that it's better than what she thought. This creativity in this book is really good for young readers helping them to think outside the box.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goldilocks has had it with all her mother's rules so she builds a rocket "to find a planet where everything's just right!" She visits several different planets until she eventually lands on Mars and it is everything she wanted. Goldilocks then sees a Martian house and it looks like no one is home. This is a silly Goldilocks in space story that will be fun to share with little ones who appreciate fractured fairy tales or who enjoy humorous alien encounters.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows the traditional tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I enjoyed the take that it took, for it was something that I had never thought of before. I enjoyed how this book incorporated elements from the original tale. With this in mind, it would be a good book to include in a lesson on traditional tales because it allows the students to determine what are the important elements of the individual tales, and what aspects remain the same across the different versions.

[Kalee Maneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so cute! It was pointed out to me in my children's literature class and I just had to add it to my list. It is a great twist on GoldiLocks and the Three bears. Goldie ends up going to space and well you can find the rest out on your own, but I will tell you I went and looked it up right after class that day to buy for my classroom library, because it is fun, and shows kids how stories can be changed.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book from the library for my daughter and ended up buying it when we had to return it. The pictures are colorful and fun and the story is entertaining. In enjoy reading rhyming stories like this to my daughter as they just flow much better than non-rhyming stories. I highly recommend this book to anyone with kids.

[Amber Lynch]

Goldilocks decides to get away from everything that she has to do around her home that she builds a spaceship and visits the planets. She finds something wrong with each planet but then she meets up with one place that is just right.

The students could use this book to compare and contrast it to the original book.

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

An "out of this world" retelling of the classic Goldilocks tale in rhyming text. The illustrations are big and bold. Goldilocks builds a spaceship and heads out to find a new planet in order to escape her mother's unreasonable demands (clean your room, don't slouch, eat healthy food, etc). This is a tale that is funny and a great read aloud.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this in a kindergarten classroom, and the kids did like it. We had to explain that Goldilocks's mom being a huge nag was a way of showing love, but that sometimes that kind of love can be stifling. Overall it's a silly adventure story, and would be great in a unit above fairy tale retellings!

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book because the name and cover photo were similar to a book I read as a child. I really enjoyed this book. I thought the illustrations were extremely creative and went very well with the words. I think children would find this book fun and would enjoy imagining this actually happening.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ungrateful goldilocks leaves planet Earth for Mars in this space rendition of the original Goldilocks and the Three Bears. After she's caught in baby martians bed she races home where it's not "that bad". The illustrations are appealing and modern. This book is good for students in Pre-S through grade 2.

[Alexandria Hiam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ungrateful goldilocks leaves planet Earth for Mars in this space rendition of the original Goldilocks and the Three Bears. After she's caught in baby martians bed she races home where it's not "that bad". The illustrations are appealing and modern. This book is good for students in Pre-S through grade 2.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids cracked up over this version of the fairytale, and I appreciated Goldilocks' realization that mom isn't so bad after all . . . may be a bit scary for some kids? We just thought it was funny...

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different take on the tale of Goldilocks. This time she decides that her mom is too tough and to find another planet where moms are "just right" but she ends up almost getting eaten by martians. Super cute illustrations.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tired of her mom's strict ways, Goldilocks builds a rocket and goes in search of a "just right" planet. When she lands on Mars, she repeats the three bear's story with an alien twist. Her cat and dog save her from being alien "fast food" and she returns home a much wiser girl.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weird poem / re-telling of Goldilocks wherein she leaves earth to escape chores and then experiments with the "just rightness" of things, only in a martian household.

Illustrations are kooky.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really cute twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Miles loves reading this book, and sometimes we take turns telling the story.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

We didn't think this was anything special...

[Aspasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny, rhyming, outer space version of the classic fairy tale. The bright illustrations kept my son's interest (and made me laugh).