Publisher Description

OF COURSE you think I did a horrible thing by eating Little Red Riding Hood and her granny. You don't know the other side of the story. Well, let me tell you... This fractured fairy tale provides a fresh perspective on a well-known tale.

Author Biography

When Trisha Speed Shaskan was a girl, she wanted to become a superhero. Her mother gave her a Wonder Woman costume. Her dad crafted her a tiara and bracelets out of metal to match. Trisha imagined she could fight evil, fly an invisible airplane, and get anyone to tell the truth. While she didn't grow up to be Wonder Woman, she still uses her imagination to write stories and to teach creative writing. Trisha has taught creative writing to children and adults for thirteen years. She has published 26 books for children, and more are forthcoming. She has an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Trisha currently lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Stephen, and their cat, Eartha, named after Eartha Kitt, famous for her role as Catwoman. Trisha Speed Shaskan was born and raised in Winona, Minnesota, where she waterskied on the Mississippi River, played basketball, and skateboarded. She has written more than forty books for children and taught creative writing to children and teens. Trisha received a 2012 Minnesota State Artist's Initiative Grant. She won the 2009 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Writers, Loft Award in Children's Literature/Older Children. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Stephen Shaskan, who is a children's book author and illustrator. Born in 1974 in Nantes, France, Gerald grew up in nine different cities around the land of cheese. He graduated from the National School of Applied Art (also called Olivier de Serres) in 1998. Gerald's creativity blossomed at a web design company, an event studio, a video-games studio, and then several animations studios. Aside from illustration, Gerald has many other interests, including managing the French Comics Artists association Rendez-Vous (which published its first book at Akileos publishing in 2009), or co-leading with the Japanese Artist Daisuke Tsutsumi the artistic and charity project Sketchtravel, a real sketchbook shared by 70 illustrators from all around the world.

Review

As Wolf tells it, he is mostly an apple-eater but was very hungry with nothing left in the cupboard. Sniffing cake, he finds Little Red Riding Hood, as plump and juicy as an apple--and vain. When she tells him she heading for her Granny's, Wolf thinks he can get two meals--plus cake and suggests a race with each taking a different path. He arrives first and quickly makes a meal of Granny, as plump as a Granny Smith apple and as vain as Little Red. The familiar dialog ensues with apple overtones. At its end, Wolf eats her and the cake. No woodsman comes to save Little Red which should surprise and amuse listeners. "Think About It" suggests discussion topics, and there is a brief glossary, bibliography, webliography, and list of other titles in the series.-- "School Librarian's Workshop, "Once Upon a Time""
Each spring in my school library I share different versions of a few fairytales with my students. Red Riding Hood is always one. While some versions are a little scarier and the pictures a tad more gory, this version told in the wolf's point of view is actually laugh out loud funny. From the first page to the last you can't help smiling. The wolf is starving and dreaming about apples which are now out of season. Little Red looks an awful lot like a red apple while granny looks like a green one. They are both so vain and self possessed and the wolf is spot on when he says "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Gerald Guerlais's digitally produced illustrations are simply beautiful. I look forward to sharing this version along with other more traditional ones and having the students compare them. Read as an ebook arc courtesy of Capstone via Netgalley.-- "Mrs. Katz's Book Blurbs blog"
Hi everyone! Junior is back with me for some more reviews. His Review: "I like the pictures a lot, especially the wolf. I love the pictures of the wolf! It was a funny book. The wolf loves apples and knows all the kinds. I think Red Riding Hood should have taken some apples with her to give him. I think when we hike we should take apples. If Red Riding Hood and Granny gave the wolf something to eat instead of thinking of themselves maybe he would not have eaten them." My Review: My grandson is autistic. He knows a lot about being able to name all the types of things that interest him. So that the wolf could name the apples was no surprise. He had no problem relating to that. He reads a lot so he was able to sit through it. I liked the story myself. I thought it was a very cute picture book. The illustrations were awesome. Even though the wolf eats Granny and Red Riding Hood my grandson did not get scared. He was able to understand the wolf only ate them because he had nothing else to eat. We enjoyed reading this together. I loved hearing him laugh out loud at the wolf. There is a teaching element at the back of the book. He was able and interested in answering most of the questions. We gave Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten 4 of 5 stars html-- "Alaskan Book Cafe"
I know. It's not my usual review but I do have a 5 year old so I read a lot of children's books too. And the title of this one caught my eye. Plus I know a lot of you have kid(s) too so from time to time I will post reviews on books for the kiddos. {Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss} This was a twist on the classic Red Hiding Hood. We all know the story. Red Hiding Hood walks through the woods to her Granny's house and runs into a wolf. In the classic the wolf is made out to be the villain. BUT in this retelling of the the tale it's Red Riding Hood that is the villain of sorts. This Red is very much in love with herself. All she can talk about is how pretty her red cape is. She is so wrapped up in herself that she doesn't even realize that there is a wolf in her Granny's house. Instead of telling her Granny "What big eyes you have" she stares in a mirror and says "Granny, what deep dark eyes I have." And "Granny, what perfect ears I have." This is a great children's book that the parent can enjoy too. I guess it depends on the age of the child if they pick up on the moral of the story. But this mommy got it. That Red Hiding Hood was ROTTEN! I recommend this classic with a twist to all the mommies and daddies out there that read to their child(ern) at night and would like something a little different that you can actually enjoy too. That's why I'm giving this book 3 apples.-- "NetGalley"
So Little Red is a vapid narcicist, and Wolf is a starving vegetarian who couldn't resist the apple looking Red and Grandma. Great "Think About It" section encourages readers to consider this point of view in comparison to other versions of Little Red Riding Hood that they may have read or heard. Also includes references to 3 other Little Red tales, Fact Hound code, and glossary. Illustrations go nicely with the text, contributing to the character traits as described by the Wolf (love Grandma's house, filled with photos of herself!). "GoodReads.com"
This is a cute take on the story of Little Red Riding Hood as told by the wolf...unfortunately for me, it was a little too reminiscent of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (told by A. Wolf) and just wasn't *quite* as good as that one. The vegetarian wolf who loves to eat apples (and drat, don't Red and her Granny remind him an awful lot of apples?) is a different idea, and quite amusing, as is Red's--and later Granny's--obession with their own cuteness. I love that Granny's walls are covered with pictures of herself! As the wolf says, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Honestly, if I didn't love Sciezka and Lane's story so much, this one would probably have gotten a four-star review. The best part of this book is the "Think About It" section, which encourages readers to compare this story to the original, asks them questions that make them consider how the setting and point of view of the story affect its outcome, and suggests they rewrite another classic fairytale from another character's point of view. As both a teacher and a parent, I love all four of those ideas--great for informal discussion as well as actually sitting down to accomplish through writing. This book would make a nice addition to any picture book library.-- "GoodReads.com"
This new book that will be released August 1st. Is a very cute book to read to children. The illustrations are fabulous and the story is a humorous spin on an old tale. Teachers, this is a great book to use in the classroom to teach POV. It also has a "Think About It" section, a glossary, and further reading recommendations that would be helpful for use in the classroom. I would recommend this book highly. Nothing better than a great children's tale with educational value. html-- "Children's Books and YA blog"

Review Text

"A wonderful resource for our pre-service and in-service teachers alike. I highly recommend this work for anyone who wants to build an effective classroom environment for students."

Review Quote

We've always heard Red Riding Hood's story told to us from Red's point of view. But the Wolf has a story too, right? After all, he was there just like Red and Granny. This inventive narrative gives the reader the Wolf's side of the story and we discover that everyone has a different perspective. The Wolf isn't a horrifying human-eating monster. He's really just a really hungry vegetarian who is practically starving after all the apples are gone and harvest time is not happening anytime soon. And Red, well, she's kind of annoying. I thought this story was well-written and original. The illustrations were also well done, with beautiful colors and clever drawings. I especially liked the "Think About It" portion of the book at the end. The glossary of various literature terms is a great way to introduce children to the different elements of storytelling. Fun read for those with children! html

Feature

Discussion Questions, Full color, Glossary, Illustration(s)/Drawing(s), Index, More Resources/Suggestions for Further Reading, Safe websites at FactHound.com

Details