Little Red Riding Hood

The pictures reflect the danger and the coziness, and they are just right for their preschool audience.

A beautiful new rendering.

All in all, an attractive take on the familiar folktale, particularly appropriate for groups.

Snow falls gently on the endpaper panorama just before Red Riding Hood sets off for her grandmother's with a basket of chicken soup and raisin muffins. Although a few other details have been changed, this new rendition of the fairy tale is faithful to the Grimms' original in its denouement and ending, in which a passing woodcutter kills the wolf, cuts open its stomach, and rescues grandmother and child. The double-page watercolor, pencil, ink, and gouache paintings in the artist's distinctive impressionist/realistic style are the draw here. Interestingly, Pinkney has painted a light-skinned black child and Caucasian adults. The mother's lace-edged nightcap, head covering, and shawl; the woodcutter's fur-collared jacket and peasant's cap; and his log-filled wooden sledge pulled by oxen set the story in an earlier era. The beautifully designed and rendered artwork, including snowy woodland scenes, glimpses of Grandma's homey cottage, close-ups of Red Riding Hood, and a very wily wolf make this book a standout."Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Produced in the same generous format as Pinkney's ("The Ugly Duckling") previous retellings of classic tales, this inviting work opens with a view of the heroine's mother posed very much like Whistler's mother, stitching a certain red cloak as a small window shows snow falling. Next she fills a basket with chicken soup and raisin muffins for ailing Grandmother and instructs her daughter, Mind you, little miss]. Be certain to go straight there. As the girl sets out, the full-bleed art, rendered in Pinkney's characteristic style, reveals snowy woodlands in which animals and birds are cleverly camouflaged. The wolf, however, appears front and center. He had a mind to eat her up at once, but the presence of woodcutters nearby deters him, and so he addresses her in his most pleasant voice. The inclusion of various soundsthe crunch, crunch of the child's footsteps in the new snow, the chop, chop of the woodcutters' tools, and so onaugments the book's appeal as a read-aloud. The wolf, although seen repeatedly with its jaws open, sharp teeth bared, mostly cuts a comical figure, poorly disguised in Grandmother's nightgown and cap. The writing and the art are spry and satisfying, and with its blue-eyed African-American heroine, this book will be especially welcomed by families looking for traditional tales that feature a multiracial cast. Ages 3-6. "(Oct.)"

Copyright 2007 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.