Little Red Riding Hood (Aladdin Picture Books)

Rating:
Summary: Hello little girl, what's your rush?
Review: At long last the whole "riding" part of the title "Little Red Riding Hood" makes sense! It's difficult to resist picking up a picture book in which the subtitle uses the word "newfangled", so it was with high hopes that I paged through author/illustrator Lisa Campbell Ernst's new retelling of some classic fairy tale fodder. Initially, I was disappointed that she opted to make her wolf a little less blood-thirsty and a little more muffin-hungry. I feared that this was just the latest in authorial attempts to clean up a classic Grimm Brothers' story. But Ernst's tale is better than that. Rather than tidying up the original story, she's reworked it entirely, giving it a distinctly homegrown American taste and feel. Many countries in the world have their own wolves. This one's just an American shyster through and through.

Little Red Riding Hood (so called because she's often seen riding her bicycle while wearing a red hooded sweatshirt) lives in a rural community with her mother. One day it occurs to her that the day is going to be hot and that she should take some muffins and lemonade to her grandmother. As she travels on her merry way, she takes a shortcut through a field and the delicious wafting scent of the muffins attracts the attention of a muffin-starved wolf. He briefly waylays the kid and hurries on to grandmother's house in the hope of stealing her muffin recipe AND the tasty treats. What the wolf doesn't count on, however, is the fact that this is not your typical Red Riding Hood story. Moreover, he's not abut to face your typical Red Riding Hood grandmother.

The story has a nice choice of wording here and there culminating with grandma grabbing the wolf by the lapels and using such terms as "scoundrel" and "tarnation". Suddenly it's the WOLF who's saying "What big eyes you have" (the better to see him skulking about, he's told by a now seriously irate grandmamma). The changes in the plot have been added to this text seemingly seamlessly. It makes perfect sense that Riding Hood would be bringing treats to her grandmother because the woman would be working in the fields that day (on a tractor, no less). The wolf for his part doesn't mean any real harm. He just wants to con two "dim-witted hicks" (his words, not mine) out of something he wants. You get the distinct feeling that this here's a city wolf in a country setting. What he doesn't count on are two particularly intelligent foes.

As for the illustrations, Ernst isn't about to win any major awards for her drawing style, but they serve perfectly within the context of the story. I liked the sprawling views of granny's farm. I liked the ample kitchen in which Riding Hood's mom bakes up some muffins in what appears to be a purple velour sweatsuit. Heck, there's just a lot to like when you look at this book. And combined with a kickin' story, it's a great and fun tale. If you've a desire to give your kids a picture book that references a classic story they may already know, you can't do much better than "Little Red Riding Hood". Try pairing it with "Swamp Angel" by Anne Isaacs for a fabulous storytime involving folktales, American grit, and women defeating furry animals.

Rating:
Summary: Farming Families Love It!
Review: Cute and witty! I checked this book out at the library to read to my boys and wound up buying it for my grandmother! For all tractor-driving grannies or people who love them, this book is a big hit! I love the recipie in back, too. (Great literature tie-in activity!)

Rating:
Summary: A New Twist on an Old Story!
Review: What would the Brothers Grimm say if they could read this? Could they have predicted a savvy bike-riding "Little Red"; or a Muffin-Loving Wolf; or a liberated, tough-talking Granny, who is also a very good cook? How could they object to such a delightful interpretation of their sometimes gruesome story? Kids love this book, and so do I!