LITTLE RED READING HOOD AND THE MISREAD WOLF

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LITTLE RED READING HOOD AND THE MISREAD WOLF

Name: LITTLE RED READING HOOD AND THE MISREAD WOLF
Author: Troy Wilson
ISBN: 978-0-7624-9266-4

by Troy Wilson ; illustrated by Ilaria Campana ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2019

No shade on books, but it’s real-world experience that saves the day in this alternative fairy-tale romp.

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“Don’t judge a book by its cover” meets “Don’t believe everything you read.”

Loving the color red, reading, and a hood from her grandma earns this white, redheaded, bespectacled heroine the name of Red Reading Hood. Grandma is sick, so Red packs a “treat” and goes to find her. Encountering a wolf, she remembers all the advice she’s read on wild animals, from “stand tall” to “throw rocks.” But this wolf is after more than dinner. At Grandma’s, unable to hold himself back, the disguised lupine pounces on the book in Red’s bag, upsetting the usual fairy-tale format. All ends happily with a storytime (the real Grandma emerging from a wardrobe), though there is a near decapitation thanks to an overzealous man with an axe. Book-smart Red’s—and readers’—expectations are challenged in the face of this unusual bibliophile. Building on this, the simple cartoon art excels in its depiction of the villain. Many a book lover will identify with the wolf rolling on a book like a cat in catnip, reveling in its “new book smell.” Kids familiar with the original tale will find much to enjoy in these unexpected twists and turns.

No shade on books, but it’s real-world experience that saves the day in this alternative fairy-tale romp. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 2, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-7624-9266-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Running Press Kids

Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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HAT CAT
by Troy Wilson ; illustrated by Eve Coy

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DOG VS. ULTRA DOG!
by Troy Wilson ; illustrated by Clayton Hanmer

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THE SINKING OF CAPTAIN OTTER
by Troy Wilson ; illustrated by Maira Chiodi

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

by Jonathan Stutzman ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

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With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)