Dusty Locks and the Three Bears

Book Review:

Dusty Locks and the Three Bears is a revisited classic children's folktale ("Goldilocks and the Three Bears") with a Southwestern twist. The story takes place in the mountains out west with a grizzly bear family of three and a very crusty, dirty and naughty little girl named Dusty Locks. Just as the original tale is told, this tale is woven in the same manner. Dusty, with no regard for another's property, barges right into the very immaculate unlocked home of the three grizzlies. There she finds three plates of yummy beans cooling off. She makes herself at home, tasting all that there is. Just as in the original story, Dusty continues to check out the grizzly bears' den and finally lies down and finally falls fast asleep. Awaken by the angry family of grizzlies, she flies right out of the window and runs all the way home. The bears never see her again, or they just don't recognize her after her mother gets her all cleaned up.

Susan Lowell's use of expressive language, such as "roughneck," "bean rustler," and "bamboozled," helps the reader visualize the characters and setting of the story. Use the link below to read a personal interview with Ms. Lowell.

Randy Cecil illustrated the story of Dusty Locks and the Three Bears. He graduated from Rhode Island School of Design and now lives in Houston, Texas. Randy Cecil uses amusing acrylic gouache illustrations in this book to capture the soft colors of the Southwestern mountains.

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