By Nicki Richesin, The Children’s Book Review
Published: September 13, 2011
If the phrase, “The better to eat you with!” struck terror in your childhood heart, fear not, these inventive retellings of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story will delight your little ones. The Brothers Grimm were especially gifted at creating dark and often haunting fairy tales, but these books below have a bit more gentle appeal. They also may serve as a great conversation starter with your children about the inherent danger of talking to strangers. As the moral of the folktale advises, children should beware of the charming and kind wolf perhaps most of all.
The Story of Little Red Riding Hood by those daring Grimm brothers (beautifully illustrated by Christopher Bing whose youngest daughter modeled for little Red) comes in an old-fashioned album meant to capture the timeless quality of the story. A cautionary tale, including the original black and white illustrated version from 1857, is inserted as a fold-out in the back of the book complete with the underlying moral.
In Betsy Red Hoodie by Gail Carson Levine, the talented author of Ella Enchanted, brings a new spin on the story. Accompanied by her wise-cracking sheep to Grandma’s house, Betsy encounters many obstacles and diversions on her path. Grandma has an unexpected surprise in store for Betsy when she finally arrives at her home. This is the second installment of Betsy’s plucky adventures (preceded by Betsy Who Cried Wolf!) with comic illustrations by Scott Nash.
Bernadette Watts paints a colorful, wondrous forest filled with wildflowers that tempt Little Red Riding Hood to pick a lovely bouquet for her grandmother. The wolf meets a gruesome end when the huntsman cuts him open to rescue them and they fill his belly full of stones. It almost makes one feel sorry for the wolf… so fiendish wolves better watch out for hunters with an ax to grind.
In his bold inventive book, acclaimed artist Daniel Egneus recreates a gothic wonderland for
Classic Treats That Never Grow Old
By Bianca Schulze & Phoebe Vreeland, The Children’s Book Review
Published: November 6, 2010
You love to give books as gifts, but you want to give a book that will be cherished and kept to be shared with future generations. Right? What you’re looking for is a classic. Something well-written, tried and tested, but perhaps with updated illustrations that will tantalize any young mind. Feast your eyes on the following delights …
Snow White: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Author), Charles Santore (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 6-9
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Sterling (October 5, 2010)
Source: Publisher
Complete with a beautifully patterned ribbon marker, this is a nice retelling of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale, Snow White, illustrated by award-winning artist Charles Santore. Santore has also illustrated an Aesop’s Fables, The Wizard of Oz and The Little Mermaid.
Add this book to your collection: Snow White: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm
Rapunzel
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Authors), Dorothée Duntze (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: North-South Books (September 1, 2005)
Source: Publisher
A softer version of the original Grimm tale. The illustrations are happy and sunny.
Add this book to your collection: Rapunzel
Aesop’s Fables
Selected and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: North-South Books; illustrated edition edition (April 1, 2006)
Source: Publisher
This is not the ultimate collection of Aesop’s Fables, however, it is a cleanly illustrated compendium carefully selected by the uber-award-winning artist Lisbeth Zwerger.
Add this book to your collection: Aesop’s Fables
