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LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD by Julia Seal

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

by Julia Seal ; illustrated by Julia Seal ; Sam Ita

Pub Date: April 1st, 2013
ISBN: 978-07641-6598-6
Publisher: Barron's

The very leaves on the forest trees are gingham-patterned in this cloying version of the tale.

There is a slightly fraught moment when Red Riding Hood recalls her mother’s vague warning of danger in the forest and studiously ignores the woodcutter (!) as he strolls past. Aside from this, the story takes its customary course up to “All the better…to eat you with!” Then the aforementioned woodcutter appears at the door, stands aside to let the wolf run past and vanishes. Thereupon, Red’s grandma is discovered in the closet (“Did I sleepwalk?”), and she and her granddaughter sit down for tea and a tower of heavily frosted cupcakes. Ita adds beginner-level pop-up cutouts to Seal’s cartoon scenes of broad-faced, smiling figures in generic country settings. They don’t appear even to try to add a frisson to the overly expository text.

Even the wolf has twinkly eyes in this rendition, which is suitable only for those children who can’t tolerate a more robust one.

(Pop-up/folk tale. 4-6)