THE THREE SNOW BEARS by Jan Brett

Is a refreshing remake of Goldilocks And The Three Bears. I don't know how anyone could possibly improve on this famous children's bed time story, but the truth is that Jan has done exactly that. This children's picture book takes place in the frozen Arctic landscape of the far North, and the leading character is a young Inuit girl named Aloo-ki. Aloo-ki glances up from fishing and sees her sled dogs floating off on an ice floe. She races after them and comes upon an igloo. Being a curious girl, she goes inside only to find no one home. Looking in, she sees a table and three place settings with three bowls of soup. After tasting each of the three bowls of soup, she discovers that the large one is too hot, the middle one is too cold, and the small bowl is just right. She then tries on three pairs of boots that suddenly catch her eyes. She first tries the large size, then the middle-sized, and finally the small boots. She decides that the small pair of boots is just right for her! After sampling three different spots on the bear's long sleeping bench, Aloo-ki discovers that the smallest spot is just perfect for her. She lays herself down for a nap and peacefully falls asleep.

Throughout this time the snow bear family has been out for a leisurely walk. While they are walking, they find Aloo-ki's sled dogs in trouble and they immediately proceed to rescue them. When the three bears return home, they are quite shocked to find that someone has apparently been in their igloo. They search and find Aloo-ki sound asleep on the smallest of the beds. Aloo-ki awakes to find the three bears staring down at her. She is startled and flees, in fright, out of the igloo. Seeing her faithful huskies outside waiting for her, she quickly hops on the dog sled rushing away. As she turns looking back, she waves a grateful thank you to the bears before heading for home.