Book Review: Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf by J. Pageau et al.

The Tale of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf written by Jonathan Pageau and illustrations by Chris Weaver

In another retelling of a classic fairy tale, Pageau presents the familiar story of Red Riding Hood with a little more detail and a few innovations. Red is sent off by her mother to Grandmother's house with a basket of food. She's told to stick to the path but, as a twelve-year old, she is easily distracted by berries and flowers along the way. The temptations lead her to a tattered circus tent where a big talking wolf tries to engage her. She shies away and gets back on the path, though he is fleeter of foot on the way to the house. After impersonating Red to get into Grandmother's house and eat Granny, he pulls the same trick by impersonating the Grandmother when Red shows up. After devouring them both, the Wolf takes the path back to Red's house, where more troubles and twists happen.

The variations in this tale give it a freshness and enjoyability because they hew closely to the themes and message of the story by Charles Perrault. This isn't some revisionist screed. The innovations underline the importance of caution and trusting one's own sense that something is off in a situation, like an inauthentic voice coming from that character in Grandma's bed. The book ends with an essay by Pageau giving his own interpretation of the text and a bit of commentary on other versions and interpretations. His ideas are a nice addition and give some extra food for thought. The illustrations throughout the book are nice but not as fine as in other volumes by Pageau. 

Highly recommended.