Once upon a time, on the edge of a big dark forest there lived a little girl called Goldilocks. You have probably heard of her? If so, you will know three things: she was small, she had lots of golden curls and she had far too much curiosity for her own good. So when Goldilocks discovers an intriguing wooden cottage deep in the forest, she just can't resist peeking inside. Now why would there be one, two, three of everything . . .? Lauren Child brings her trademark innovative approach to this wonderfully warm and witty retelling of the classic cautionary tale, and adds her own clever twist. Following the success of The Princess and the Pea, she once again joins forces with award-winning portrait photographer Polly Borland, whose stunning photography brings this truly original picture book startlingly to life. They are joined by a talented theatre designer, Emily Jenkins, who has designed and created an enchanting hand-crafted miniature world. The sets for the book took over a year to make. The doll-sized cottage, complete with winding staircase, stands about a metre tall. Real turf was grown for the roof. Special wallpaper and fabrics were designed and printed, featuring woodland motifs. Exquisite miniature furniture, including the three bears' beds, chairs and porridge bowls, were carved, crafted and painted by Emily and her team of designers. Tiny slippers were sewn, cushions stuffed and bed linen edged and folded. The tiny spoons were carved specially - even the porridge is real!The cast of characters were made by world-famous doll maker, R. John Wright, whose dolls and bears sell to collectors all over the world. Goldilocks is 30 centimetres tall and made of soft felt with hand-painted features; her golden locks are made of the softest mohair. She arrived from America complete with a tiny hand-woven basket of felt daisies, which you can see her carrying in the book. Mother, Father and Baby Bear are all made from the softest fur and have tiny resin claws. Father Bear arrived with a hand-carved wooden pipe, which, if you look very closely, you can spot in the pictures, warming by the fire.

 

There are 44 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2009 by Penguin Books Ltd .

One of today's most successful creators of children's books, Lauren Child is the winner of several awards, including Highly Commended for the Kate Greenaway Medal for Clarice Bean, That's Me. Lauren lives in North London. Emily Jenkins writes books for both adults and children. She has a doctorate in English literature from Columbia and reviews children's books for The New York Times . She teaches a course in writing for children at New York University. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.