Blue Ribbon Books
Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Pop-Up Book)
Cloud, C. Carey and Lentz, Harold B. (illustrators)
New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1934. First edition. No dust jacket, as issued.
Quarto (approximately 8 x 9.25 inches). 13 pages of text. Color pictorial paper-covered boards. Three full-color double-page pop-up illustrations. Additional black-and-white illustrations throughout. Original endpapers printed in black and white.
An early American pop-up classic from Blue Ribbon’s pioneering series, Goldilocks and the Three Bears is illustrated by two of the most influential paper artists of the period—Harold B. Lentz and C. Carey Cloud. This “Illustrated Pop-Up Edition” adapts the familiar fairy tale into a dynamic visual format with three dimensional scenes: Goldilocks sampling the bears’ porridge, the moment of her discovery in their bed, and her dramatic ejection by Papa Bear. The accompanying text is illustrated with stylized black-and-white vignettes and presents a somewhat mixed moral tone: Goldilocks is shown breaking into the bears’ home and damaging their belongings, while the bears consider eating her—until Baby Bear intervenes. The story ends not with reconciliation, but with the bears installing a lock on their cottage door.
Condition: Near fine. All three pop-ups are present, bright, and fully functional. The book is tightly bound with no writing, tears, or bends. Boards are clean and vibrant with only slight paper loss near one arm (see photos). No dust jacket, as issued.
Collector’s Corner:
First published in 1934 by Blue Ribbon Press of New York, this title helped introduce American readers to the novelty of dimensional storytelling in mass-market children’s books. Goldilocks and the Three Bears was part of a groundbreaking movement in 1930s publishing, with Blue Ribbon leading the charge to make movable books widely available. Illustrated by Lentz and Cloud—two key figures in early pop-up innovation. It remains one of the most enduring examples of American Depression-era movable bookmaking