Review by Booklist Review
In pithy rhyme, de Regniers retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Gorey's line drawings executed in two colors (khaki and bright red) are a sly delight featuring a perfectly deadpan Riding Hood and an eager wolf. In contrast, distinctive watercolors highlight Zwerger's rendition. Especially compelling is the Hunter rescuing Grandmother from the wolf's belly and a sequential series showing the wolf dressing in Granny's clothes. A more humorous treatment comes from Marshall's sprightly rendition, marked by his irreverent pictures. Those seeking a lush but totally child-appealing Red Riding Hood will seek Hyman's distinctive, folk art-bordered offering with a cat in every spread.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-In the animation of Trina Schart Hyman's sublime picture book, the characters' appendages move in a way that brings to mind animatronic tableaux. The effect, combined with the menacing music at the beginning of the story, is unnerving. Mother strokes the air in repetitive motion; her mouth moves, though her face is frozen; and the child's large eyes open and close like a doll's. Cutouts of characters seem to glide through the air, unincorporated into the scene behind them. The video portrays the violence abstractly. Also unsettling is the scene where Little Red and her grandmother, having been rescued from the wolf's stomach via the huntsman's knife, have a picnic; the scene seems celebratory, accompanied as it is by light piano music, and viewers may wonder about the bloody scene left in the bedroom while the pair enjoys their meal. Narrator Erin Yuen aptly creates a unique voice for each character. At times, Hyman's beautifully detailed borders are used effectively to suggest a stage. VERDICT Parents and teachers should preview this video first to judge whether it's too disturbing for younger and more sensitive children.-Constance Dickerson, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The illustrations are schmaltzy, the book's design is gingham-and-posies old-fashioned, the whole production plays to an American-frontier-nostalgia sensibility (at variance with the fantastical aspects of the tale)--but the story is far more distinctly and firmly pictured than in Lisbeth Zwerger's vaporous Little Red Cap (p. 60, J-12). Though the book is a hokey historical reconstruction, that is, it does st least provide a lot to look at (furnishings, patterns, provender); and though the figures are stagey rustics, they do have a semblance of personality. The telling is plain--meaning both undistinguished and free of literary flourishes. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
