Little Red Ruthie: A Hanukkah Tale

A Jewish holiday mixes it up with a favorite fairy tale.

She may be Jewish and her hood may be a puffy red coat, but Ruthie has the same problem as the original Little Red Riding Hood--a hungry wolf--which means she needs to be as "brave as the Maccabees." Koster and Eastland's spoof takes several twists and turns, including the revelation that the Wolf doesn't mind dressing up as Bubbe (Eastland shows him spritzing himself with perfume and admiring himself in the mirror). Ruthie, meanwhile, finds a powerful weapon in latkes. She feeds the wolf so many of them (after explaining their significance, of course), that he begs to escape into the fresh air. (Bubbe Basha, being a bubbe, sends him on his way with a jelly donut.) Eastland's digital drawings, breezy and punctuated with lots of red, are a stylish counterpoint to the poker-faced text. Ages 4-8. Illustrator's agency: Advocate Art. (Aug.)

An amusing twist on "Little Red Riding Hood" with a bit of "The Chanukah Guest" thrown in. Little Red Ruthie is off to her grandmother's house to make latkes when she runs into a hungry wolf. Clever Ruthie convinces him not to eat her because she'll be much more filling after Hanukkah. "When the holiday is over, I am sure to be as round as a pancake myself...why not eat me then?" The wolf is momentarily deterred, but not for long. He winds up at Bubbe (grandmother) Basha's house where Ruthie prepares him plate after plate of latkes while relating the Hanukkah tale. Finally, the wolf is "full up to his eyeballs and very groggy, " and as he heads for the door, Bubbe Basha hands him a jelly donut, the final blow to his sore tummy. Humorous illustrations invigorate the predictable plot, as does the lively language. VERDICT A welcome holiday offering for most collections.—Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library