Little Red Riding Hood - Tapa dura

This retelling of a classic story is firmly aimed at children who are already well-versed in fairy tales. The text is much less important than the illustrations - crackle-glazed paintings in (according to the blurb) "Alison Jay's much admired style". Personally, I don't care much for the tiny-featured faces and spindly limbs, but I do love the concept. Although Red Riding Hood is the main character, she lives in Fairy Tale Village, where her Mum runs the tea shop, and all around her other fairy tale characters are taking part in their own stories. Children will have great fun spotting these - I found more every time I looked - and could be encouraged to tell the story of, say Hansel and Gretel, themselves. NB the fates of the baddies in these tales have been considerably toned down! No wolves appear to have been harmed in the telling. * Anabel's Children's Literature Blog * Little Red Riding Hood is warned not to dawdle in the woods when she goes to visit her sick grandmother and not to talk to strangers, especially the Big Bad Wolf. But the wolf seems kind when she meets him and tells him where she is going. Little does she know he is rushing ahead to her grandmother's house so he can trick her and eat her. Luckily help is at hand. This is a lovely retelling of the classic fairy tale with lots of well known characters and extra events to look for in the stylish crackle-glazed pictures. This makes it great to share and gives plenty of scope for discussion to make up your own extra stories. * Primary Times *

In this retelling of the ever-popular tale, Little Red Riding Hood goes to visit her grandmother and finds a rather larger, scarier wolf in her bed! After a frightening moment, the wolf is captured by a woodsman and granny is let out of the wardrobe. Young readers can also see the story of Hansel and Gretel being played out solely in pictures in the background, and spot motifs of other fairy tales.