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Trina Schart Hyman used to pretend she was Little Red Riding Hood when she was a little girl, wearing a red cape sewn by her mother. Her love for this character permeates her award-winning retelling of the traditional Grimm story, even as Grandma and Little Red get eaten alive by the wolf and then saved by the kindly woodsman (illustrated carefully with a minimum of violence). Little Red learns her lessons--to keep her promises, to stay on the path, to mind her manners, and to avoid talking to big, bad wolves--lessons parents still try to teach their children many generations after the Brothers Grimm first recorded this story.
For over 20 years, readers young and old have loved Hyman's illustrations of children's books, fairy tales, and folk tales--most notably the Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel, and The Fortune Tellers by Lloyd Alexander. Her illustrations for Saint George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges, won the Caldecott Medal. (Ages 3 to 6)
From Publishers Weekly
Goodall clearly has enjoyed embellishing the story of Little Red Riding Hood in this wordless edition of the tale. His heroine is a sociable young mouse who encounters a number of friendly animals on her way to visit her ailing grandmother: a family of ducks, a chivalrous frog and a squirrel who stops to tell her the time. Who can blame her for assuming that the intentions of an impeccably dressed wolfsporting an ascot and top hatare innocent? Goodall's trademark use of alternating full and half pages work well to accentuate the drama of the story; in a few quick flips of the page the wolf springs from granny's door into her bedwith granny's red-stockinged feet dangling from his mouth. The woodcutter is a brawny bear who, despite the grisly appearance of blood on his axe, still has the appetite for a civilizing cup of tea after escorting Little Red Riding Hood home to her mother. Lush watercolor paintings beautifully evoke the woodland setting, balancing the more sinister elements of the story; this is another impressive addition to Goodall's distinctive opus. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-A classic Grimm tale retold in Spanish and English. Charming yet scary illustrations add to the story of the little girl who meets a hungry wolf in the forest while on her way to take her grandmother a jar of honey and a pie (instead of wine and a piece of cake, as in the original). Another variation occurs when the hunter opens the wolf's body to save the grandmother and child. Once rescued, Little Red Riding Hood stuffs two big stones into the wolf's belly and sews it up. This weighs him down and he dies "on the spot." Estrada's colorful compositions, whether full page or spot, are balanced and attractive. The well-written narratives are likely to engage independent readers as well as read-aloud audiences.Reina Huerta, New York City Public Schools Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Parents' Choice®
This is a near-irresistible rendition of the Grimm tale, in which a plucky Red Riding Hood marches resolutely through a birch forest to bring her ailing grandmother a decidedly Gallic pick-me-up: "a piece of pie and a bottle of wine." In this telling, the wicked wolf makes short work of both grandma (whom we only meet in the book's final illustration) and grand-daughter, only to have his bloated belly efficiently snipped open by a passing hunter. "The wolf, of course, did not survive the operation", and Little Red Riding Hood gets to keep part of his hide "so that her mother could make her a nice fur coat." The pictures are fresh, bright and wittily action-packed. The format is appealingly small, and the $6.95 price makes this the best children's book bargain in many a moon. In the same series are a Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Puss in Boots and Three Little Pigs. A 1998 Parents' Choice® Silver Honor.
Reviewed by Selma G. Lanes, Parents' Choice® 1998
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