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SUPER RED RIDING HOOD

Name: SUPER RED RIDING HOOD
Author: Claudia Dávila
ISBN: 978-1-77138-020-1

by Claudia Dávila ; illustrated by Claudia Dávila ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2014

This adds nothing to the myriad “Little Red Riding Hood” adaptations already on the shelves.

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Ruby is an imaginative young girl who is always prepared to save the day with the addition of her red cloak.

When her mom sends her on a mission to pick some raspberries for her snack (and get some much-needed time in the outdoors), she goes prepared with her flashlight and the cape that transforms her into Super Red Riding Hood (good thing, too, as a small snail needs rescuing). Before Ruby even gets to the woods, she starts singing, “Who’s afraid of the deep dark woods?” Her flashlight helps her overcome her fears of those dark woods when she spotlights various noisemakers, including an owl and a woodpecker. But after she fills her lunchbox with berries, a real threat looms (literally) in the form of a slavering, yellow-toothed, huge-clawed wolf that backs Ruby against a tree. He lunges, and Super Red Riding Hood uses all her skills, leaping, darting and climbing, to avoid him. By asserting herself, Ruby forces the wolf to back down, and it turns out—surprise—that he was just hungry after all; in a wildly contrived ending, they happily share her raspberries. In the rather unpolished, animation-influenced illustrations, the friendly wolf is only slightly less scary-looking than the ferocious one—savvy kids will wonder how those carnivore teeth manage the berries.

This adds nothing to the myriad “Little Red Riding Hood” adaptations already on the shelves. (Fairy tale. 5-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-77138-020-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
WAY OFF TRACK
by Carl Brundtland ; illustrated by Claudia Dávila

- BOOK REVIEW
THUNDERBOOM
by Jack Briglio ; illustrated by Claudia Dávila

- BOOK REVIEW
HOCKEY NIGHT IN KENYA
by Danson Mutinda & Eric Walters ; illustrated by Claudia Dávila

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BUYING MITTENS

by Nankichi Niimi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1999

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First published in 1988 in Japan, this tale does not survive its translation. A small fox experiences winter for the first time, tumbling, scampering, and running in the snow-covered world. Soon he returns to his mother complaining that his paws hurt and tingle with cold. Mother takes one of little fox’s paws and “magically turned it into the cute hand of a human child.” She sends her child off to town to buy mittens, warning her child to show only the human hand to the storekeeper. The small fox finds the town and the storekeeper, and politely asks for mittens, sticking a paw through the open doorway. In his confusion he puts forward the wrong paw; but the storekeeper, once he is sure the fox has real money, finds a pair of mittens and puts them on the fox’s paws. The fox returns home, baffled by his mother’s fear of humans. The plot has folkloric elements, but the text is wordy, sentimental, and pedestrian. Although the art can’t compensate for the text, the jacket painting holds the promise of luminous illustrations within, with a glowing white fox against of soft pearl-gray landscape. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1999

ISBN: 0-8248-2128-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
GON, THE LITTLE FOX
by Nankichi Niimi ; illustrated by Genjirou Mita ; translated by Mariko Shii Gharbi

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THE SECRET CAVE

DISCOVERING LASCAUX

by Emily Arnold McCully & illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2010

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Part Hardy Boys, part archeology, this mesmerizing look at the discovery of the prehistoric cave paintings of Lascaux invites today’s readers to experience the wonder of the event. McCully has written and drawn a stunning fictionalized account based on historical records and interviews. The endpapers entice with the rendering of the maps of the caves, and soft, wide watercolor strokes capture the essence of the prehistoric art. When the action is aboveground, the realistic illustrations are her characteristic ink-and-watercolor style, but below the ground the edges soften and the images become shadowy and mysterious. The Caldecott winner gets the emotions of the secret descent for buried treasure just right, drawing readers' eyes down the tight shaft to the light of the first boy’s lantern in the large art-filled chamber. In one glorious wordless spread, the boys (and readers) are filled with awe at the revelation of the pristine art. What to do with this knowledge? The boys know just whom to trust. Budding historians will be amazed by this story of curiosity and serendipity. (author’s note, bibliography) (Picture book. 5-7)