Children's laureate Anthony Browne's latest book is a modern retelling of the traditional tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Baby bear is narrator, giving the story a new perspective, but it is the parallel stories and structure of the book that makes it so brilliant.
On each spread, we see two worlds: the cosy, sunlit (and pastel) world of the bears on one side; the gritty, urban (and grey) world of Goldilocks on the other.
As in the traditional tale, Goldilocks enters the bears' house, eats the porridge and tries out the chairs and beds. But she arrives there after losing her mum when they were out together and is reunited with her at the end. While the bears' side of the story unfolds through text and gentle illustrations, Goldilocks version of events is wordless and told only through largely monochrome and dark illustrations.
This is a superb and complex story. Browne succeeds in challenging perceptions, provides the whole of Goldilocks' story for children to tell in their own words and offers a wealth of detail that will be absorbed only with numerous tellings.