Very Little Red Riding Hood

Very Little Red Riding Hood is a variant on Perrault’s classic fairy tale. There are many such rewrites, and it was fun to encounter an original spin. The protagonist, hereinafter VLRRH, is a very young and saucy girl. VLRRH’s youthful and mildly imperious voice is well done.

Unfortunately, I found myself questioning the motivations of the characters. The wolf seems to switch inexplicably from selfish to selfless. I applauded VLRRH’s initial suspicion of the wolf, but then wondered why that changed. I would have liked to see VLRRH grow or learn a positive lesson from her adventure. As a parent, I wonder about the example VLRRH offers by so quickly befriending a stranger. Or about mummy letting so young a child go out by herself.

The old-school illustrations (watercolor and pencil?) were charmingly simple and well-executed. Image size, from two-page spread to multiple elements on a single page, was used effectively to convey pace. Capitalization and font size were similarly employed well for emphasis. The map drawn in the front and back matter offers a humorous wink to adult readers. Without giving a spoiler, the ending references some familiar verses from the original tale, and has a fun and upbeat twist.