Little Red by Bethan Woolvin
| Little Red by Bethan Woolvin | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: A new Little Red Riding Hood, this pits girl against wolf, with a surprising but welcome outcome | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: March 2016 |
| Publisher: Two Hoots | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1447291398 | |
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We all know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, yes? Like many fairy tales, it's a little dark, so when you hear of a version that reimagines the story, your mind starts to wonder how they may have done this. Maybe a happy ending? That would be nice.
Little Red is a different take, but not in the way you might expect. Sure, it starts sweetly, and in a familiar fashion. Her mother asks her to visit her grandmother and she's a good girl so she obliges. The wolf catches wind of her trip and gallops off through the woods to get there first… which was unlucky for Grandma. But the next step of his plan is less successful. Little Red Riding Hood sees straight through his disguise, and really why wouldn't she? He's a big black wolf, wearing a bonnet, in bed, pretending to be a little white haired old lady. As he's about to attack, she pounces first. And, well let's just say she emerges unscathed and heads home wearing a glossy new fur coat. Gosh.
There are some stories where, if you're cunning, you can amend the words a little to make them less frightening or steer the story in another direction. If this is your plan, to tone this story down somehow, be warned: the illustrations leave little to the imagination and at one point we have a rather graphic image of the wolf eating grandma, her bony legs hovering just below his jaw, her head already swallowed down.
So no, not the tamest of tales, but I did like this one. I liked the feisty heroine and the message that little girls should not be under-estimated. I liked the twist at the end when the wolf got what he deserved. Nasty wolf, eating the defenceless old lady like that. I also really liked the illustrations, gory or otherwise. There's a certain Scandinavian feel to them. Less stimulating than some garish toddler books, but just as captivating.
This may be one you need to take a personal view on before sharing it with more delicate souls, but anyone who can cope with the original cut of the story should have no problems with this one. The body count stays the same, but good triumphs over evil, and no woodcutter is needed to come and hack open the wolf's stomach and free the pair (if that's the version of the story you know).
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending us this book to review. Red Riding Hood and the Sweet Little Wolf by Rachael Mortimer and Liz Pichon also retells the original, taking a different angle. You might also enjoy Help! The Wolf is Coming! by Cedric Ramadier and Vincent Bourgeau.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Little Red by Bethan Woolvin at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Little Red by Bethan Woolvin at Amazon.com.
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