This adds nothing to the myriad “Little Red Riding Hood” adaptations already on the shelves.
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
An all-day sugar rush, putting the “fun” back into, er, education.
A young visionary describes his ideal school: “Perfectly planned and impeccably clean. / On a scale, 1 to 10, it’s more like 15!”
In keeping with the self-indulgently fanciful lines of If I Built a Car (2005) and If I Built a House (2012), young Jack outlines in Seussian rhyme a shiny, bright, futuristic facility in which students are swept to open-roofed classes in clear tubes, there are no tests but lots of field trips, and art, music, and science are afterthoughts next to the huge and awesome gym, playground, and lunchroom. A robot and lots of cute puppies (including one in a wheeled cart) greet students at the door, robotically made-to-order lunches range from “PB & jelly to squid, lightly seared,” and the library’s books are all animated popups rather than the “everyday regular” sorts. There are no guards to be seen in the spacious hallways—hardly any adults at all, come to that—and the sparse coed student body features light- and dark-skinned figures in roughly equal numbers, a few with Asian features, and one in a wheelchair. Aside from the lack of restrooms, it seems an idyllic environment—at least for dog-loving children who prefer sports and play over quieter pursuits.
An all-day sugar rush, putting the “fun” back into, er, education. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-55291-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For those times when it is forgotten that a pet is not a toy, Graves provides a pointed little cautionary tale. Young Stanley is a pet collector. "He purchased them in singles / and matching colored sets. / Big or small, wet or dry, / he loved to buy new pets." He also has a tendency to forget their existence after playing with them for awhile. Comes the day that he gets a taste of his own medicine. While shopping in an "undiscovered shop," he gets captured, sent to a far galaxy, and sold as a pet. His owner is a nice enough, three-eyed chap, but, robbed of his freedom, fed pretty dreadful pet grub, and encouraged to do silly tricks, Stanley is one unhappy puppy. He makes a break for it, gets thrown in the pound, is saved by his three-eyed owner, and sent back to planet Earth after he pleads his case. " 'Thanks,' said Stanley. 'You saved my life. / Friends like you are few. / But I'm not happy in this jar, / or living here with you.' ” Once home, his pets are not especially joyous about his return, but he does right by them and they decide to stay. Graves's artwork is corny but also bursting with color and a host of strange creatures. The verse a jaunty affair, but it's the pictures that will appeal the most. Certainly a very useful book to have on hand when a chorus of avoidance meets the dog's desire for dinner and a scratch behind the ear. (Picture book 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8118-2672-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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