Redlocks and the Three Bears

by Claudia Rueda

Goldilocks meets Little Red Riding Hood in this fairytale mashup.

KNOCK! KNOCK! When the Three Bears answer the door, it's not Goldilocks they meet, but a stranger from a different story. It's Little Red Riding Hood—and the Big Bad Wolf is close behind her! Still, much unfolds as expected: porridge is eaten, a chair is broken, and there is a girl asleep in Baby Bear's bed. Does Little Red fit in this book after all? Perhaps it's the Wolf who will surprise us. The Bears and Little Red learn that characters, just like the stories we tell, can change over time.

Genres: Picture Books, Fairy Tales, Childrens, Humor, Animals, Fractured Fairy Tales, Storytime

52 pages, Hardcover

Published November 2, 2021

About the author

Claudia Rueda is a Colombian picture book author, New York Times Best Seller illustrator and a 2016 Hans Christian Andersen and Astrid Lindgren award nominee. Her books have been published throughout North America, Europe and Asia and have been translated into more than ten different languages.

Reviews

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a knock on the door and the Three Bears are surprised to find Little Red Riding Hood standing on their step. Little Red Riding Hood is fleeing the wolf and the Three Bears offer her shelter. But the Big Bad Wolf is sad and disconsolate until the other characters find a way to help him.

A fun mashup of familiar fairy tales.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This quirky combination of familiar fairy tales falls flat when the characters jump between books, not stories, which makes all the difference between showing and telling, interesting and boring, enlightening and confusing. More experienced readers familiar with The Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood know how the stories go, but jumping between books creates a mixed-up mashup, as exemplified by this memorable line: “After Wolf had three bowls, I measured his mouth to show Little Red it was not big and terrible, but just right.”

[Regina Spiker · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 years old granddaughter and I loved this mashup of several fairy tales. The illustrations are hilarious with chubby, lumpy bears and even Red has the funniest shape. I hate that fairy-tales aren't shared like they were when I was a child and they don't even get circulated like they should at our library branch. Revisit those sweet fairy-tales even if you are a grown-up and cynical with the world!

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love inventive takes on classic fairytales and this one does not disappoint. We begin with the three bears ready to eat some porridge when "Little Red from the book next door" knocks at the door to ask for help. Little Red gets to stay at the Three Bears' house while trying to escape the wolf and she goes through all the same sort of acts of destruction that Goldilocks would have -- a broken chair, and so on. When the wolf shows up at the Bears' house, all the characters escape to the Three Pigs' house. But ... the story takes a turn when the characters realize the wolf is crying because nobody likes the wolves in stories and he doesn't want to be the Big Bad Wolf anymore. Little Bear decides to share some porridge with Wolf and send Little Red and the Wolf back to their story. It's a fun twist and silly but also heartwarming. I like the end when Goldilocks does show up but the Bears want no more visitors today. Children familiar with these tales will get a kick out of this book!

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book by Chronicle Books. Opinions are my own.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a total sucker for revisionist Big Bad Wolf stories. This is up there with The Goldilocks Variations in my opinion.

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living happily ever after can look a little different for everyone, especially if you’re a talking bear who simply wants to finish their porridge in peace.

Ms. Rueda had a wonderful imagination that she put to full use in this tale. Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that pushed the boundaries of the children’s and fantasy genres so much that I grinned when I realized where the author was leading everyone. She certainly knew how to keep her audience guessing.

I would have liked to see a little more time spent resolving the conflict between Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. She was so worried about him in the beginning that I was surprised by how quickly that was all sorted out. As much as I loved the references to other fairy tales, it would have made more sense to me as a reader for this to be given extra space to be worked out between those two characters.

With that being said, this was an adorable retelling and mashup of two classic fairy tales. I appreciated the fact that the narrator assumed everyone reading it already knew how those stories traditionally played out and immediately moved on to showing how everything was different in this version. Writing it this way meant that my interest levels remained high, and I was eager to see what happened next. There were plenty of opportunities to pause and explain certain plot twists to little ones who might have questions about certain plot twists, too.

Redlocks and the Three Bears was imaginative and fun.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid fractured fairy tale, where Little Red Riding Hood comes to the 3 bears asking for help to escape the Big Bad Wolf. The 3 little pigs make a brief appearance, and though a girl with blonde hair knocks on the door at the end, they have never heard of Goldilocks. Simple, large font words would make this appealing to Early Readers more than toddlers (who wouldn't have the base fairytale knowledge to get the humor of this. Somewhat meta, as the little bear at one point turns the page to "take a look", this is a read-alike to Wiesner's "The Three Pigs" (which also has characters turning pages)

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Little Red from the book next door was asking for help."

Redlocks knocks on the door of the bear's cottage, asking for protection from the Big Bad Wolf. Of course the bears let her in and, not unlike that other story, eats porridge, breaks a chair and uses baby bear's bed because it was getting so late. When the wolf appears, the bears and Redlocks jump into another story (three pigs) to get away from the wolf ... and there is, of course, another wolf ... but he's crying. "Nobody likes to have wolves in their books." So the bears over him some porridge and then he and Red go back to their own book.

Cute

[Susan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE revisited fairy tales that are such an improvement on the original.
First of all, I agree with the underlying message: there isn't anything that a bowl of porridge can't make better.
Second, I LOVE the message that we are not vassals of fate, rather, we can command our own destinies. Red and Wolf can rewrite their tale, and the Three Bears can decline to answer the door to Goldilocks. Everyone wins, and this is a fabulous way to model creativity and mold breaking for young students.
This tale is an absolute delight.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red decides the wolf in her story is too scary, so she runs over to the 3 bears next door and asks if she can stay in their story, but when the wolf catches up they all run to the 3 little pigs' story. How will this mixed up fairytale end?

Lots of fun little elements of each story all mashed together, and the ending is a happy peaceful solution to all. Hand this to fractured fairy tale fans, and those looking for more peaceful and friendly resolutions than some of the fairy tales originals'. Also, the illustrations are adorable.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would happen if Little Red runs to the Three Bears house instead of facing the wolf? And what would happen if the wolf is unhappy about not being liked? A gently humorous reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Bears. Little ones who are well acquainted with these stories will delight in this delightful mashup.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adore Claudia Rueda books! This was an fun little fairytale retelling about Little Red running away from the wolf to the three bears house. The text on each page is light and easily digestible, with adorable plump bears. In the end, the poor wolf is sad about everyone constantly running away from him. And I love the funny last page: "Goldylocks? Never heard of her!"

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever idea to mash up the fairy tales, but the story itself is a little blah, probably because it's just a simple narration, which makes it very tell-y and not show-y.

SPOILER ALERT:

Why do so many stories these days have to show the wolf having a change of heart? A wolf is a wolf. What happens after this book is closed when the wolf goes back to his own storybook?

[Bonnie Grover · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love mixed up fairy tales. This one has the Three Bears answering the door to Little Red Riding Hood with the Big Bad Wolf close behind her. A fun story about what happens when we open our hearts and homes to the unexpected. I loved the facial expressions, simple but yet so telling and hilarious.

[WhiteDF · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little fairytale mashup for readers already familiar with "Goldilocks and the Three Bears", "Little Red Riding Hood" and "The Three Little Pigs". Love the large illustrations on one side with the ornately framed text on the opposite page. This book is 1 of 10 titles nominated for the 2023 Kentucky Bluegrass Award for grades K-2.

[Mariana Fabian · Rating 3 out of 5]

childrens lit and related materials: radical change

3.5 but Goodreads doesn’t do that

another by rueda! a fun way to mash up some classical childrens fairy tales and make it meta + change the iconic moments of the stories. I thought this was cute and fun, even with how the text plays with the reader and the cover shows the RED as markered on instead of “gold.” It’s creative af!

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best children's books I've had the pleasure of reading in quite some time. The storyline was clever, and the illustrations were adorable. It's certainly worthy of a spot on any child's bookcase. I highly recommend it.

[Atlanta]

A delightfully spunky reimagining of Goldilocks and the Three Bears if Little Red Riding Hood had come knocking at the door instead. Told from the youngest bear's perspective, this book sees Red invited into the house and the family solving their issue of running from the Big Bad Wolf.

[Robin Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very different drawing style for Rueda. Much more nuanced. A nice mash-up of Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood. The text acknowledges this in a humorous way. "We ran to another book to stay way from the wolf!!!"

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Too cute!

[Jennifer Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story!

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a big fan of the illustration style, but this mash-up is hilarious!

[Tina Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute fractured fairy tale of Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood, told through the eyes of baby bear.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if my kids know all of the classic fairy tales enough to understand the fractured telling of the fairy tales.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute mash up of popular folktales with pleasing illustrations that will keep young readers guessing what mixed up element might come next.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

HA! Wonderful meta-fiction revision of The Three Bears and several other familiar fairy tales.
I loved the humor and charmingly goofy illustrations.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mixed-up twisted fairy tale soup (or should I say porridge) has an unexpected ending and theme. It's definitely a unique take on the same-old. Silly

[Marissa Elera · Rating 4 out of 5]

These illustrations are super cute!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny and gorgeous mashup of fairy tales.
The illustrations are so animated, especially The Bears.