Goldilocks overstays her welcome with the three bears in this (very) fractured fairy tale.Insisting she is really a switched-at-birth princess, Goldilocks flees her suburban home and runs into the woods in search of her rightful parents and their castle. Exhausted from running all night, she finds an unlocked house and, as the story goes, tries the porridge, chairs, and beds she finds there. Papa and Mama Bear show sympathy for Goldilocks, offering her a place to stay while she waits for the Big Bad Wolf to leave the area. But Bobby Bear—Baby Bear's new, more mature name—has had enough of "the furless one" and devises a plan to take her to the castle despite his parents' injunction. With appearances by the hungry bridge troll, the three little pigs, and others, this mixed-up story is a new take on the classic fairy tale. Goldilocks and Bobby Bear take turns narrating their story, but their mutual animosity means they keep interrupting each other's narrative, a device that's sometimes funny but often distracting. Black-and-white drawings are scattered throughout the text, but these obtrusions often overpower the narrative. References to cautious Bobby Bear's lack of bravery and princesslike behavior are off-putting, in line with the overall abrasive tone of the humor.A potentially fun twist on a classic fairy tale that unfortunately isn't "just right." (Fantasy. 7-10)

Gr 35 What might have happened if Goldilocks had stayed with the three bears rather than running away in fright? Readers will find the tongue-in-cheek answer in Freeman's lighthearted romp through a forest that's home to many familiar fairy-tale characters. Here, Goldilocks is reimagined as a brassy tween who storms out of her suburban home after an argument with her mother, vowing to find the castle where her real parentsthe king and queenmust surely live. Predictably, she gets lost and instead discovers the three bears' cottage. Upon their return home, Mama and Papa welcome Goldilocks warmly and tell her it won't be safe to travel through the forest until after the new moon. Baby Bear, who now prefers the name "Bobby," is resentful at the intruder-turned-houseguest, and the two are at odds over everything from sleeping arrangements to dinner plans. The more determined Goldilocks becomes to leave the bears' cottage and find the castle (and the king and queen she's sure must live there), the more Bobby, eager to be rid of his new housemate, eggs her on. When the two eventually sneak out of the cottage in search of the castle, Goldilocks and Bobby must work together to escape the dangers of the forest and return home. Irreverently told from Bobby's and Goldilocks's alternating viewpoints, the story moves quickly and will be particularly appreciated by fans of other fairy-tale reimaginings such as E.D. Baker's "Tales of the Frog Princess" and Sarah Mlynowski's "Whatever After" series. VERDICT Independent readers who like their fairy-tale fun with a dash of sass will be pleased by Freeman's new offering. Katherine Barr, Cameron Village Regional Library, Raleigh, NC