The art is absolutely gorgeous, and was by far the best part of the book for me.

Not sure how this is exactly an African American retelling but for the fact that "Leola" is black, but ah, well. ( )

I dunno. It was charming enough - but the diversion about the bears having a inn was, imo, distracting. As was calling them honeybears and giving them three different colors. And I didn't particularly like the ending - the child should have been 'scared straight' so to speak. In my opinion. ( )

Leola and the HoneyBears is an african-American retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. A courious Leola disobeys her grandmother and wonders off into the Pine Hollow Woods and runs into a strangerby the name of Mister Weasel who wants to eat her. Remembering never to talk to strangers, Leola runs as fast as she can and finds food and shelter at the HoneyBear Inn. Great for young children, can be used in the classroom for Pre-k to early elementary. Great for storybook reading, can be used to teach/reineforce size differences, children can als re-enact story. ( )

Melodye Benson Rosales’s Leola and the Honeybears is a truly original take on the Goldilocks story, transporting the classic tale into a rural Americana setting. Rosales has subtitled her book “An African-American Retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” and she infuses her tale with a hefty helping of southern hospitality. In fact, Rosales seems to reference other stories with her book, specifically the Uncle Remus tales collected by Joel Chandler Harris: the language is imbued with a southern twang and the characters act like more polite, respectful versions of Brer Rabbit and his kin. Like the traditional Goldilocks story, Leola and the Honeybears is a cautionary tale that reminds children to heed the warnings of their elders; however, an interesting twist on the story is that the Honeybears actually take pity on poor, lost Leola and help her find her way home. Although the Honeybears bear a striking (unintentional?) resemblance to the “Country Bear Jamboree” at Disneyland, the illustrations are actually a mixture of realism (the human characters) and fancy (the anthropomorphic animals). In any case, Rosales has created a unique, engaging story with beautifully-rendered illustrations; this book is a delightful discovery and worthy of more publicity.

Citation:
Rosales, Melodye. Leola and the Honeybears. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print. ( )

This delightful book is of a young child who disobeys her grandmother and wanders into the woods. The story is a remake of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with an African American character as the leading role.