James Marshall (1) (1942–1992)

When I was five years old or something, I was legit terrified by this book and thought Miss Nelson had an evil twin. Thirty years later, someone posted a photo of Miss Viola Swamp and encouraged people to comment on who it was. I couldn't remember the name but I sure remembered being scared. I read others' comments and got ahold of this book, happily. This is cute! I'm glad I got to read it again. I figured out what was up quickly this time, and the ending made me giggle a little. Turns out it was made into a series. I hope kids today enjoy it.… (més)

I included this as a variation on the classic story because the author portrays Goldilocks as a specifically naughty girl, rather than the thoughtless or overly curious girl that is more typical for the story. The first bit of text says, “Once there was a little girl called Goldilocks. ‘What a sweet child,’ said someone new in town. ‘That’s what you think,’ said a neighbor.” The accompanying illustration shows Goldilocks jumping off a swing and into a pool of water, beside which a group of cats are sleeping; her facial expression shows that she knows the cats are there, and she knows exactly what effect her splash-landing will have on them. Text on the next page has Goldilocks making a promise, and then the sentence “But to tell the truth Goldilocks was one of those naughty little girls who do exactly as they please. All this paints a very unpleasant picture of Goldilocks (which isn’t helped by the subsequent storyline) that is absent from the classic telling of the story.… (més)