LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

This board-book retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood” features colorful, retro-style illustrations and a few movable flaps.

This version of the red-caped protagonist sports a distinctive cone-shaped hood as she enacts the familiar motions of the story. The sturdy interactions include a swinging basket, a blanket that covers the wolf on Grandma’s bed, a spinner that depicts the wolf’s dreams; they give younger kids something to manipulate but do not add much to the story. There are regrettable inaccuracies and elisions in Bradley’s adaptation of Maurin’s translation of the original French text. The neck of a bottle protrudes from the basket, which readers are told contains “cake and butter” for Grandma, and the wolf wears a pair of frilly pajamas, which the text calls “one of [Grandma’s] nightgowns.” This quick story ends with the hunter shown wielding a pair of scissors on the wolf’s bulging belly as the text recounts that he “rescued Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother” (who emerge unscathed with the pull of a tab). One of the main disappointments of this shortened (but still text-heavy) version is that it skips the “Grandma, what big eyes you have!” routine. The publisher recommends an age range of “0-36 months,” which is consistent with the format but not with the audience’s developmental readiness. Companion title Pinocchio, with illustrations by Tiago Americo, is similarly awkward and unsuitable.

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