Review by Booklist Review
Gosh all hemlock! Tradition would lead you to believe that Little Red Riding Hood was a girl, but according to West, Red's a boy--Little Leroy Le Rouge, to be precise. After Moo Moo (his grandmother) gives him a red riding hood, Leroy takes to wearing that hood everywhere, earning him the nickname Little Red. Anyway, one day his momma gives him a basket of her homemade pea bean fish-bone muffins to take to Moo Moo. Along the way, Little Red meets a big ol' wolf, who makes fun of Little Red for wearing a coat clearly made for a girl. Well, Little Red corrects the wolf, telling him he wears the hood because it makes him feel as mighty as a firecracker! West obviously has had great fun telling his fractured fairy tale in a rustic backwoods dialect and matches it with cartoon pictures that capture the antic tone of the text perfectly. His gender-flipped version of a classic seamlessly defies gender norms to empowering effect. Could Cinderfella be next? We can only hope!
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
