CLOAKED IN RED

The opening salvo is an author’s note in which veteran writer Vande Velde neatly deconstructs and skewers the original Little Red Riding Hood story—and then proceeds to write eight variations on it. Each begins with tongue stuffed in cheek: “Once upon a time, after fashion was discovered but before people had makeovers on TV”; “Once upon a time, before online dating services....” Other tales appear now and then, too, as in “The Little Red Headache,” told from the wolf’s point of view, in which he is haunted by a dream of three little pigs, or “Deems the Wood Gatherer,” whose neighbor’s house looks entirely like a baked treat. “Little Red Riding Hood’s Family” not only provides readers with a Granny who is a (were)wolf but also pokes pointedly at the whole glittery vampire thing. The red riding hood itself has a spell and a story of its own, the last told with a delicious connection to "a certain superhero" in a time not so very long ago. Lightweight but cozy and versatile, it's much funnier than the solemn cover lets on. (Fractured fairy tales. 9-14)