Book Review: Professor Goose Debunks Goldilocks and the Three Bears

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Professor Goose Debunks Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Paulette Bourgeois
Published by Tundra on June 21, 2022
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Bears, Juvenile Fiction / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Adaptations, Juvenile Fiction / Science & Nature / General
Pages: 40
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Netgalley

The first in a new series by the author of Franklin the Turtle! Join Professor Goose in this STEM-filled picture book as she fact-checks classic fairy tales and shares the science behind these flawed stories.

Mother Goose's fairy tales are NOT based in science, and her great niece Professor Goose thinks it's time to share the truth. Join Professor Goose as she -- literally -- travels through the pages of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, fact-checking, exposing the flaws and explaining the science. Bears don't live in cottages -- they prefer dens! The smallest bowl of porridge wouldn't be "just right" -- it would have been the coldest! Professor Goose is delighted to see Baby Bear use the scientific method and Goldilocks's fight or flight response. And maybe Goldilocks should have used a GPS so she wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place?

Jammed with jokes and wonderfully silly illustrations, this book entertains while it introduces basic scientific laws and rules to young readers. At the back of the book, readers will find Professor Goose's instructions on how to engineer their own chair for a (teddy) bear!

This is a delightful picture book that introduces STEM concepts through Professor Goose, a distinguished academic researcher. This is a great book for kids who love deconstructed fairy tales; it’s a different direction for right after reading Stinky Cheese Man, and also for kids who aren’t quite ready for A Tale Dark and Grimm. There’s even an engineering craft at the back, to make a chair for a (teddy) bear! This introduces concepts like fact-checking and critical evaluation, and is a great STEM introduction for reluctant-to-math kids, or for kids who really like to prove other people wrong. (I may or may not have been one of these children.) Five stars; a great addition to your picture book library. Five stars.