Summary
A retelling of a favorite fairy tale, set in a bustling contemporary Chinatown, that celebrates Chinese New Year.
It's Chinese New Year, and Goldy Luck's mother wants her to take a plate of turnip cakes to the neighbors. The Chans aren't home, but that doesn't stop Goldy from trying out their rice porridge, their chairs, and their beds--with disastrous results.
In this funny and festive retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears , Natasha Yim and Grace Zong introduce a plucky heroine who takes responsibility for her actions and makes a new friend (and a whole plate of turnip cakes!), just in time for Chinese New Year.
Includes back matter about Chinese New Year and a recipe for turnip cakes.
Author Notes
Natasha Yim is the author of Sacajawea of the Shoshone (Goosebottom, 2012), Cixi, "The Dragon Empress" (Goosebottom, 2001), and Otto's Rainy Day. She lives in Ukiah, California, with her family.
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 4-The retelling of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is set in a Chinese urban landscape, where Goldy Luck is not living up to her name. The story begins with a Chinese New Year celebration, and Goldy's mom wakes her up so she can bring turnip cakes to the neighbors. After sampling their porridge (congee) and wrecking their furniture, Goldy settles into the bed of Little Chan, a panda who is not good at sharing. The Chan panda family arrives home, and when Goldy awakes, she runs out, embarrassed. Her sense of decency gets the better of her, and she returns to make amends. The story's simple, sweet, but didactic. The illustrations are bright, alluring, with Chinese cultural references. The DVD should be coupled with the actual picture book, because the text includes information about the Chinese New Year, which is lacking in the video. For example, children may wonder why losing a red envelope is so heartbreaking for Goldy. This is a supplemental purchase to primary programs that want to enhance their folklore or Chinese cultural collections.-Pamela Schembri, Newburgh Enlarged City School District, NY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Having set out to transpose the story of Goldilocks into the key of the Chinese New Year, Yim (Otto's Rainy Day) turns in a solid performance. The forest becomes a Chinese neighborhood, the bears become pandas, the porridge becomes congee (rice porridge), and the errand becomes Goldy Luck's delivery of turnip cakes to the parents of her friend Little Chan. "He never shares stuff with me," Goldy Luck grumbles, and her mother replies, "Wash away old arguments and be nice, or you'll have bad luck." Zong's (Orange Peel's Pocket) paintings provide additional information about life in a Chinese family with close looks at scenes inside both houses; there's even a household altar with offerings placed before a picture of a panda ancestor. In Goldilocks tradition, Goldy Luck wreaks havoc and the Chans discover her: "Look. It's Goldy Luck, sleeping on my futon!" The images and story emphasize family life, cooperation, security, and warmth, while author's notes explain Chinese notions of good fortune and the Chinese zodiac system, and supply a recipe for turnip cake. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator's agent: Studio Goodwin Sturges. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
This entertaining Goldilocks takeoff is set during the Chinese New Year celebration, when Goldy Luck takes a gift to her panda neighbors. Familiar incidents follow--featuring (rice) porridge, a broken chair, and a nap--all portrayed with zest in the illustrations. In an ending that suits the setting, Goldy has second thoughts and returns to apologize. New Year facts and a turnip cake recipe are included. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Goldy Luck, not an especially lucky child, is awoken by her mother one Chinese New Year and sent to the neighbors' to wish them "Kung Hei Fat Choi" and deliver a plate of turnip cakes. Tired and hungry, and thinking of the neighbor boy who doesn't share, she is reluctant, but she takes her mother's advice seriously: To avoid bad luck in the new year, she must resolve arguments and be kind. Though no one is home at the Chans', she enters--and drops the cakes. In trying to clean up, she follows the typical "Goldilocks" storyline, eating the Chans' congee, breaking a chair, falling asleep in a bed. When the Chans (anthropomorphized pandas) return home, the embarrassed Goldy runs away, but her conscience gets the better of her. In a moral addendum, Goldy returns to the Chans' to put things right, forming a friendship with Little Chan in the process. Zong's acrylic illustrations bring Goldy's culture to life through small details in the households as well as the Chinese New Year parade glimpsed through the doors and windows, though some of the details (Mr. Chan's massage chair) may seem stereotypical. An author's note explains more about Chinese New Year and is followed by a chart, unfortunately yearless, of the Chinese zodiac and concludes with a recipe for turnip cakes. A welcome Chinese addition to the fairy-tale shelf. (Picture book. 4-8)]]]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
It's Chinese New Year, and Goldy Luck's mother sends her to visit the Chan family with freshly cooked turnip cakes. As in the traditional Goldilocks story, the family of three bears (here pandas) are away, so Goldy eats Little Chan's congee, breaks his chair, falls asleep on his futon, and flees when the Chans return. Feeling guilty, Goldy Luck returns to the Chans with a bowl of hot congee to make amends, and the story ends as Goldy eats turnip cakes with the Chans. Cartoon-style illustrations add Chinese American elements to the story, such as the exchange of red envelopes, lanterns hanging above a rug with the Chinese zodiac, and a New Year's parade passing by. This composite of Goldilocks and Chinese New Year sometimes feels forced, but the Chinese American trappings provide an entertaining variation for seasonal storytimes. An author's note explaining customs and a recipe for turnip cakes are appended.--Perkins, Linda Copyright 2014 Booklist
